‘We haven’t had success here’: Bill Guerin says changes are coming for Wild after early playoff exit
Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin and head coach Dean Evason talked Monday after the team's early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Edmonton bubble.
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin didn’t mince words Monday when talking about the team’s early elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Edmonton bubble.
The Wild’s goal was to be in Edmonton for a few months, but after last Friday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4, it ended up being about three weeks. Expectations were much higher than a 3-1 series loss to the Canucks, and going into off-season mode in mid-August.
“This is not the place we want to be right now, we would still like to be up in Edmonton competing for the Stanley Cup and we’re home earlier than we thought we would be,” Guerin said.
Guerin, who is coming up on one year since being hired to replace Paul Fenton as general manager, vowed things will likely look much different when next season starts.
“I think we’re a good team but there will definitely have to be changes. We haven’t had success here and things need to get better, that’s just the way it is. We need to be better,” Guerin said.
So what needs to change? Guerin highlighted three specific areas. They’ll be in search of a top line center, they need to find a way to stay out of the penalty box and they need better, more consistent goaltending. Guerin parted ways with goaltender coach Bob Mason on Monday after 18 seasons.
The Wild largely stayed out of the penalty box in Game 1, and the result was a 3-0 win over the Canucks. That’s a stark contrast to Game 3, where the Wild took 11 penalties. They played special teams for more than half of Games 3 and 4. They also had a stretch of 13 straight power plays without a goal.
“If you watched our hockey club prior to the playoffs and the break, we played four lines, everybody contributed in their way and we just didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to do that. We took penalties, we definitely have to be better on the power play if we get into situations like that,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “Our power play has to step up and provide offense that we were lacking if we get into situations like that.”
Guerin said he also wants to see more consistent play from his goaltenders. It was a tough year for Devan Dubnyk, who spent time away from the team to deal with a family medical issue. He played in 30 regular season games and as 12-15-2 with a 3.35 goals against average and a .890 save percentage.
He never got off the bench in the best-of-five series against Vancouver. Alex Stalock started all four games after going 20-11-4 in 36 starts with a 2.67 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. Stalock allowed 12 goals in three games against the Canucks after shutting them out Game 1, but also kept the team in games with saves at pivotal moments.
Guerin wouldn’t commit to his current goalie rotation for next season, saying all options are open.
“I was disappointed in the goaltending this year. Al had a tremendous year and Devan had an off year, it needs to be better. That’s just the way it is. If I told you anything different, I’d be lying to you,” Guerin said. “If I have an opportunity to make it better, I will. But I’m also confident if those guys come back, that they’re going to be battling for a spot. It just has to be better, I can’t promise anybody a spot.”
It’s been an eventful first year for Guerin as a general manager. He traded fan favorite Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh, fired coach Bruce Boudreau and had to deal with a four-month layoff due to COVID-19. He also promoted Evason to full-time coach after the Wild went 8-4 with him serving the interim label before the NHL suspended play.
“I didn’t see the pandemic coming, that’s for sure,” Guerin joked.
One silver lining for Guerin is he will have Russian star Kirill Kaprizov whenever next season does start. Guerin wanted him in Edmonton with the team, but because of visa issues, he never got to the bubble and instead arrived to the Twin Cities on Monday.
He’ll have to quarantine, but Guerin hopes he can meet his new teammates soon and find a place to live. He’s one of the most highly-anticipated prospects ever for the Wild, but Guerin wants him and fans to exercise patience with the star.
“We’re all hoping he comes in and just lights the world on fire. That’s what we hope, but this is a very good league, it’s the best league in the world with the best players in the world, and he hasn’t played here yet and there’s an adjustment period. We don’t want to put the weight of the world on his shoulders, and we’re not going to,” Guerin said.