Apr 17, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) and left wing Matt Boldy (12) and left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) and right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) celebrates a power play goal scored against the Dallas Stars during the first period in game one of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dean Evason, the head coach of the Minnesota Wild, had an open conversation about his optimistic future perspective and the events of the day of the termination with Michael Russo of The Athletic, just a few days after the Wild fired Evason.
Tyler Yaremchuk: It was surprisingly, but pleasantly, shocking to see a coach come out and discuss his side of the story soon after being dismissed. Dean Evason got down with our friend Michael Russo from The Athletic to discuss Evason’s attitude and how this all came together.
Frank Seravalli: There is a lot of optimism there, and it almost seems like if you have that much, people would think you’re not angry about losing your job. He is, of course, unhappy about it, and he still wants to be the Wild’s coach. I do, however, really like his attitude: “I woke up thinking I am a pretty good coach and ready to coach again, not because I was fired and thought I am a shitty coach.” I adore that line of thinking.
Frank Seravalli: A lot of what’s happening with the Edmonton Oilers is evident; Connor McDavid is scoring, their powerplay is effective, and their goalies are making saves. Even after only one game, the Wild begins to show that. With just two goals, Matt Boldy, who scored 31 goals the previous season, will start to build momentum and score a lot more goals. He made a suggestion that Kaprizov was hurt and that his skating speed hadn’t fully healed. That was a fascinating fact.
After the penalty kill, Frank Seravalli claimed to have contacted dismissed coach Bob Woods, who replied, “Oh, the PK looks great tonight.” Many of these things usually make a comeback, but I believe he realizes that after losing seven
Tyler Yaremchuk: That’s right, and another thing that really caught my attention was when he told Bill Guerin, “Are you firing me, bud?” and Guerin responds, “Yup,” and they both start crying. Fans like us find it simple to shout, “Fire the coach,” but it might be difficult to realize that firing friends and coworkers after years of friendship is a difficult process.
With 21 games played this season, the 40-year-old has five points. With a 6.54 anticipated goals against per 60 minutes, which ranks sixth among defenders with at least 500 minutes of ice time while shorthanded since 2021, he is among the league’s greatest penalty-killing defenseman.
With a team-friendly cap hit of $800k, the former Norris Trophy winner is in the last year of a two-year deal with Toronto. Before being chosen by the Seattle Kraken in their 2021 expansion draft and being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2022 trade deadline, Giordano played 15 seasons with the Calgary Flames, including eight as captain and a Norris Trophy victory in 2019.
