The Minnesota Wild will introduce Mike Yeo as the team’s new head coach tomorrow afternoon. Yeo will be the 3rd head coach in franchise history and will replace the recently fired Todd Richards.
It was first reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Yeo who was a former assistant with the Penguins under Michel Therrien and Dan Bylsma, guided the Houston Aero’s to the Calder Cup and is widely regarded as one of the top up and coming coaches in the game.
Yeo beat out two prominent coaches in former Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish and his former mentor Michel Therrien who had strong interest in the job and is a scout for the Wild.
Therrien interviewed for the job and has also interviewed for the New Jersey Devils head coaching position.
Stanley Cup winning coach Ken Hitchcock also interviewed for the Wild’s opening.
Despite pressure to hire a veteran coach after the failed Todd Richards experiment, Yeo has long been considered GM Chuck Fletcher’s top choice.
However, the hire is a gutsy one from Fletcher and this hire could dictate his long-term future with the team, entering his third year with the franchise.
