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  • An Open Letter to Darby Hendrickson

    Image courtesy of James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
    Mikki Tuohy

    By Mikki Tuohy -

     

    Well, it finally happened. The day Minnesota Wild fans knew would come eventually, even if we didn’t want it to. After years of questioning how you managed to evade the ax that seemed to come for everyone else on the coaching staff, it finally came for you. Sort of the hockey version of “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me.” Even though Emily Dickinson died nine years before ice hockey’s first league was formed and could never have imagined someone making a comparison this wacky with her poetry, I’m sure she would appreciate the thought.

    Darby, you’re so easy to root for. That’s probably the reason that everyone would exhale a sigh of relief when the Wild would announce a coaching change and you were once again spared. Not only are you a born-and-bred Minnesota boy, but you’re also a great guy overall. In a way, you’re a little bit of a precursor to Brock Faber, playing for Minnesota all the way up, even if you also played a few other places. I’ve never met you personally, but from everything I’ve heard, you’re Minnesota nice to a fault. 

    On the other hand, this might be the perfect time for you to switch gears. You’ve got four children, and I know three of them play hockey. I know Beckett is committed to playing for your alma mater, the U of M, next season. Mason has been playing for Gustavus Adolphus College. Without a busy NHL schedule, there is more room to watch college hockey along with any other teams that your other children will be playing with. You’ll still be busy, but now you can pick where you’re going and what team you’re watching.

    After such a long career both playing and coaching hockey, you deserve some downtime. Besides, after taking so much loving abuse from Dean Evason behind the bench, you might need some extra time to heal. 

    It might also be good for you to settle down and put some thinking into your coaching strategies and general thoughts. After working under and with so many other coaches, I can imagine there might be lots of ideas you’d like time to think about without someone else pushing their agenda. I have no idea how coaches are hired, but after you had such a great run with the Wild, you’d probably have no problem finding another position somewhere. 

    To close this out, you’ve had a great run, Darby. There is always going to be a vocal negative section of fans because this is Minnesota, after all. But I think I speak for a big chunk of fans when I say thank you for being a consistent face behind the bench for so long. We watched you play, and we watched you coach. No matter where you’re headed next, we’re sending you off with only good feelings. 

    Good luck with your next endeavors, Darby, and thank you for everything.

     

    By Mikki Tuohy  

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    mnfaninnc

    I'm just wondering about the wording of Hendrickson being fired. It said he was relieved of his coaching duties. 

    I'm assuming, and maybe assuming too much, but this sounds like he was still under contract for future seasons. Being relieved of duties doesn't sound like he's being let go by the organization, as reassignment could be an option. Usually when that occurs, they get to help scout, not just sit at home and relax. 

    My hope is that Heinzy brings on a defensive wizard for the blueliners. Someone who immediately captures the respect of every defenseman. With respect to Pewter's position, I thought we already had a special teams guy (whose units weren't stellar). And, you could tell that there was a problem when Johansson was asked to kill penalties. 

    One conclusion I have is that this team has a bunch of defensive prospects, yet has not invested in actual coaches to develop these guys. We need 2 of these guys, 1 in the N and 1 in the A. Perhaps that will give us different results?

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    Pewterschmidt
    52 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    I thought we already had a special teams guy (whose units weren't stellar)

    Jason king was who Evason brought in to un$&ck the pp and pk but results varied if I remember correctly. Pp improved but pk never really did.  And that job was the hot potato that might have done in Darby. (Researching special teams rank now)

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    Pewterschmidt
    15 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Researching special teams rank now

    10th ranked PP, ok not bad Kingzy 

    30th ranked PK.  Difficult to steal games with this bad of a PK

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    Pewterschmidt
    2 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    10th ranked PP, ok not bad Kingzy 

    30th ranked PK.  Difficult to steal games with this bad of a PK

    Based on a Dec 2nd wilderness article by J Wig, Hynzy/Dwyer took for Evason/woods.  

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    mnfaninnc
    6 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Jason king was who Evason brought in to un$&ck the pp and pk but results varied if I remember correctly. Pp improved but pk never really did.  And that job was the hot potato that might have done in Darby. (Researching special teams rank now)

    So, did King ever have the PK, or was that Woods' unit?

    I would suggest a real defensemen coach who should also be able to coach the PK unit. 

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    Protec

    Edmonton's PK and PP pretty much nailed in the coffin for Dallas.

    The Oilers PK was running at 100% for the last 9+ minors taken if I recall. Dallas players couldn't do jacksquats on the PP while every crummy minor Suter or Tanev took resulted in an Edmonton goal almost immediately.(Like 1st minute of the PP.)

    That was pretty funny to see. Suter has gotta be so hated in that room. His shitty penalties and slow as molasses in Januaryness was terrible against the Oilers and directly cost the Stars in close games. Edmonton's defense helped Skinner look better and basically win over Oettinger who didn't play poorly at all. Dallas outshot EDM but the Oilers score on just a couple grade A chances. Dallas got very few high-quality chances. 

    Tying it back to MN's team. Having a terrible PK helps ya lose. Having weak defense exposes the best goalies. Having a deadly PP can win you games when the ice is tilted. It's all about effin winning I've heard, maybe THIS will be the off-season the Wild address their terrible special-teams and face-offs problems.

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    Up North Guy
    On 6/2/2024 at 10:34 AM, mnfaninnc said:

    I'm just wondering about the wording of Hendrickson being fired. It said he was relieved of his coaching duties

    I read that Darby was offered other positions with the Wild front office but declined.

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    Willy the poor boy
    25 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

    I read that Darby was offered other positions with the Wild front office but declined.

    What can we read into that? Spends his whole career with the Wild, homegrown and is offered another position with the team and declines. Many will run to protect BG from the obvious, but not me. I think it's pretty clear.

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    Burnt Toast
    8 hours ago, Protec said:

    Edmonton's PK and PP pretty much nailed in the coffin for Dallas.

    Which is exactly what happened when Dallas took out the Wild last year. As a casual hockey fan it boggles my mind that such an important part of the game would not be addressed over multiple years. Find a couple of stud PK pros for next year or coach up who’s available on the roster. I can guarantee you Florida is going to take the Oilers PP seriously. 

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    Protec
    2 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

    Which is exactly what happened when Dallas took out the Wild last year. As a casual hockey fan it boggles my mind that such an important part of the game would not be addressed over multiple years. Find a couple of stud PK pros for next year or coach up who’s available on the roster. I can guarantee you Florida is going to take the Oilers PP seriously. 

    I think Dallas did too but just couldn't stop it. You have to stay out of the box against them. Suter took a couple brutal minors. The timing of Dallas losing their PP mojo was unfortunate. 

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    Up North Guy
    22 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

    What can we read into that? Spends his whole career with the Wild, homegrown and is offered another position with the team and declines. Many will run to protect BG from the obvious, but not me. I think it's pretty clear.

    Could be but I tend to think that Darby has plans and goals of his own. He is and has been very involved in various charity and civic organizations throughout his career. He may have decided that he feels it is time to move in a different direction.

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