By Canadian Press

Minnesota Wild fire coach Dean Evason, assistant Bob Woods after losing 14 of their first 19 games

Nov 27, 2023 | 4:17 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild fired coach Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods on Monday after losing seven games and 14 of their first 19 to start to the NHL season.

General manager Bill Guerin announced the moves but did not say who would be replacing Evason.

Evason, 59, was nearly a quarter of the way through his fourth full season as Minnesota’s coach. He got his first NHL head job in February 2020 as a midseason replacement when Bruce Boudreau was fired.

“Dean did an excellent job during his tenure with the Minnesota Wild, especially as head coach of our team,” Guerin said. “I am very thankful for his hard work and dedication to our organization. I would also like to thank Bob for his hard work during his time as an assistant coach with the Wild. I wish Dean, Bob and their families all the best in the future.”

Evason is the second NHL coach fired this season after the Edmonton Oilers dismissed Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Kris Knoblauch. The Oilers have won four of seven since.

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Not much has gone right for the Wild (5-10-4) so far this season.

Matt Boldy, who scored 31 goals last season, has just one 12 games into the first season of his $49 million, seven-year contract, and Kirill Kaprizov — the team’s highest-paid player at $9 million a year — has six in 19 games. Only the lowly San Jose Sharks have allowed more goals per game than Minnesota (3.95).

The Wild host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

The Associated Press