The folks at the mothership have given their reaction to Todd Richards being fired, and it's clear that they understand the move.
It's pretty simple to understand the move. In two seasons as head coach, Richards failed to get the team over the hump and into the postseason. In a market like Minnesota that's starving for playoff hockey, that's simply not going to cut it, even if the problems go much deeper and much higher in the organization.
It'd be unfair to say that Richards had all the pieces he needed to get the Wild to the postseason, and thus it'd be unfair to put the blame completely on his shoulders. As coach, though, you always get the short end of the stick.
There's a reason that Minnesota is called "The State of Hockey," and it's because hockey is to Minnesota what basketball is to Indiana or football is to Texas. It's our game, and for Richards to have his teams just thoroughly fall apart over the course of the past two seasons is unacceptable to the fans that fill the XCel Energy Center and have followed the team since they came into being.
I'm not sure if there's something in the water in the Twin Cities or what the deal is, but our SB Nation friends have cited a quote from Richards in the Star-Tribune following yesterday's game that I simply don't understand.
"Without question, you look back, 'Would you do some things different? Yeah, absolutely," Richards said. "But for the most part, there's not too many things I could change."
Mr. Richards, with all due respect, your team fell apart at the end of each of your seasons as Wild coach. Please don't tell us that there aren't many things you would change. This sounds like David Khan telling us that the rebuilding of the Minnesota Timberwolves is "done," despite the fact that the Timberwolves have been the worst team in professional basketball for a very long time.
Again, keep it right here for more breaking news and reaction to the firing of Minnesota Wild head coach Todd Richards.