As I mentioned in an earlier post, I like this hire a lot. He's going to bring an up-tempo style to the Wild which this team has been sorely lacking. Ever since the post-lockout rule changes, a look at the Stanley Cup champions bears out that the up-tempo teams are the ones which took home the hardware:
- 2006 - Carolina over Edmonton
- 2007 - Anaheim over Ottawa
- 2008 - Detroit over Pittsburgh
- 2009 - Pittsburgh over Detroit
Taking nothing away from Jacques Lemaire and the job he did here, I don't see any trapping teams among the Stanley Cup finalists in any of those seasons. All eight teams listed above had defensemen who rushed the puck, forechecked aggressively, and played fast. The Wild of the 2008-09 season looked like they have cement blocks in their skates compared to the playoff teams. New GM Chuck Fletcher and new coach Todd Richards were brought in to change that.
What the media is reporting about Richards:
- Here's Michael Russo's report from the introductory news conference on Tuesday.
- Russo's Rants - also a speculation on some potential free agent departures
- Pioneer Press's Brian Murphy and how the hiring may impact Marian Gaborik's free agent status
- The transcript of the presser is here - includes a phone interview with Richards' former boss in San Jose, Todd McLellan.
- What some others are saying
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