Wild GM, coach: Of like minds

COLUMBUS, OHIO — The old adage is managers manage and coaches coach, and that certainly was the case for yesterday's Wild.

The original regime -- former General Manager Doug Risebrough and former coach Jacques Lemaire -- felt there were boundaries, and they rarely were crossed.

Risebrough didn't instruct Lemaire on how to use players. In return, Lemaire didn't storm into Risebrough's office demanding different players.

But as the Wild officially begins its next chapter tonight against the Blue Jackets, the new regime -- GM Chuck Fletcher and coach Todd Richards -- promises collaboration.

"He still will have final say on line combinations and usage of players and I'll still have final say on trades and player signings," said Fletcher, beginning his 17th year in the NHL and first as a full-time, non-interim GM. "But to think we operate independently of each other in today's NHL is naïve and really dangerous.

"Maybe I have a different perspective because I grew up the son of a very successful NHL GM [Cliff Fletcher] who had terrific relationships with his coaches. But I believe if the coach and the manager are not completely in synch and supportive of each other in terms of decision-making, you have no chance of being successful."

Risebrough-Lemaire ends in dysfunction

Risebrough and Lemaire had a respectful and successful working relationship for years. No expansion team since 1991 won more games in its first eight seasons than the Wild's 293.

"You need a relationship that you can trust, and I always trusted Jacques and I think he always trusted me. That's why it worked," Risebrough, fired in April, said Thursday.

But because of that boundary where Risebrough managed and Lemaire coached, there were times they weren't on the same page.

Two years ago, after Risebrough traded for center Dominic Moore, Lemaire said the coaching staff had never heard of him.

Last season, Risebrough acquired Dan Fritsche and called up Peter Olvecky to make his NHL debut. Risebrough, long searching for a center, said he finally found him in Fritsche. He said Olvecky would play wing. The next night, and in subsequent games, Lemaire played Fritsche at wing and Olvecky at center.

According to multiple team sources, the relationship between Risebrough and Lemaire was fractured during the second half of last season. Asked if that's true, Risebrough said, "It's irrelevant." Attempts to reach Lemaire were unsuccessful.

Risebrough had a policy of not meddling in Lemaire's business. But late in a catastrophic December 2008, Risebrough went to Lemaire and insisted he move Brent Burns back to the blue line after a six-week stint at forward. A month later, Risebrough intervened again regarding Lemaire's frustration with second-year center James Sheppard.

According to a team source, the Wild came very close to firing Lemaire after last season's 4-9-1 December, something the source believes Lemaire ultimately discovered.

Asked if he almost fired Lemaire, Risebrough said: "It's irrelevant today what Doug Risebrough almost did. I think the fans are more interested in what the Wild is going to do than what might have happened last year."

In his final act as Wild head coach, Lemaire gave Risebrough no advance warning he was stepping down after the season finale in Columbus.

Being 'part of the process' key for new coach

You can bet if Richards ever decides to move Burns, a star in the making, to forward for any reason other than an injury emergency, Fletcher will be in his office before the period's over.

"Todd will coach, but I will know well beforehand what's happening and why," Fletcher said. "Todd can't be sitting guys that I want to see playing, and it would be foolish for me to trade for a player the coaching staff didn't like. We're in this for a common purpose.

"I'm not saying we can't disagree and argue. The coach still picks the lineup and I have to make trade calls. But we're kidding ourselves if you just think the coach does this and the manager does that. This isn't the 1960s anymore. This is a cap world. You can't afford to make player personnel mistakes. As much as you want to make the right decision all the time, it's almost more important to limit the mistakes. And if you limit mistakes, you can generally stay out of trouble. And the only way you limit mistakes is by it being a collaborative effort."

So, Richards had a front-row seat July 1 when the Wild landed its biggest free agent in history, Martin Havlat, and defenseman Greg Zanon. Most debates for the pros and cons of potential trades involve Richards, and he was all for acquiring Kyle Brodziak, whom he previously coached.

"Chuck allows me to be part of the process and allows me to have a voice on certain things," Richards said. "And I allow him to have a voice on certain things because he's sitting up there watching the team."

Risebrough said there are many "styles" to managing a team, and it depends on the experience of the people involved. Lemaire had coached before coming to Minnesota, and he won a Stanley Cup. So he decided to let Lemaire do his job "and it worked."

"Some things work with some people and don't work for another person," Risebrough said.

Well before Fletcher was hired as the Wild's second GM in history May 22, Richards was No. 1 on his list to coach the Wild. When Fletcher managed the Wilkes-Barre Baby Pens, he hired Richards after being assistant coach in Milwaukee for four years.

In two years, Richards won a Baby Pens record 98 games and guided them to the 2008 Calder Cup Finals.

"One of the first things I heard back on Todd from Chuck was that our pregame skate was harder than some team's practices," Penguins GM Ray Shero said.

Richards: The next big thing?

In a lot of ways, Fletcher, 42, and Richards, 42, are similar, starting with their sense of humor.

"His is a lot drier than mine. He'd come down to the locker room after some losses and go, 'Boy, that was an awful-coached game,'" Richards said, laughing. "I'd sit back and say, 'Is he serious or joking?'"

In Wilkes-Barre, Richards became a rising star in the coaching ranks and was hired as San Jose's assistant last year. Shero wanted to hire Richards in the middle of last season to replace Michel Therrien, and Wild owner Craig Leipold says of the dozen or so GM candidates he interviewed, the majority had Richards as 1 or 2 on their list of coaching candidates.

But what made Richards the next big thing?

"It's strange. I asked [San Jose GM] Doug Wilson that question in my last meeting because I wanted to say thank you," Richards said. "I asked him, 'Why does everybody see me as the next great coach?' He just said, 'Todd, you're you. You're just real and I think everybody sees that.'

"The one thing I always wanted as a player from the coach was honesty. Just be honest with me. If I'm not playing good, tell me I'm not playing good, but give me solutions to help. That's all I ever wanted as a player and that's how I want to act as a coach."

Finding comfortable fit, in spite of inexperience

There's no denying Richards has been fast-tracked to one of 30 NHL head coaching jobs. He has coached for only seven years, two as a head coach and both in the American Hockey League.

Logically, there will be mistakes, and Richards admitted to many in camp. But Fletcher's not worried.

"I remember waking up in the middle of the night in early June, which I did frequently at that point," Fletcher said. "I remember thinking that the concern might be that I'm leaning toward hiring a guy without NHL experience. But my biggest fear was what happens if I don't go with my instincts and don't hire him and two years from now he's a star coach in the league?

"To me, there was a bigger risk not pursuing Todd than hiring him. Once I broke it down to that level, it really became just a matter of when and not if I was going to hire him."

Fletcher decided that being a first-year GM, it was essential he hire someone he knew and trusted. Both as a college player at the University of Minnesota and longtime minor-leaguer, and as a coach, Richards has won everywhere.

"Brian Burke told me the most important decision I'll have to make is the coach," Fletcher said. "If the head coach is great, our team does well. If the coach isn't great, we won't. Then I have a problem. Now I've got to make a change. If you make a bad pick or hire a bad scout, you can always work around certain things. But the coach is critical.

"I know Todd. He's a proven winner, a strong communicator, a technically sound coach and a highly competitive guy. When you add it all up, the only knock you can come up with is his lack of NHL experience. But if you use that as a major criterion in every job search, then who would ever get a job?"