A new chapter of the Wild starts Saturday.
Dean Evason will be behind the bench for his first game as interim coach when the Wild hosts the Sharks Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center, the team's first test since General Manager Bill Guerin fired coach Bruce Boudreau on Friday.
"I expect this team to compete for a playoff spot," Guerin said. "I think maybe some adjustments or a different voice that Dean will bring will help the guys."
Boudreau's dismissal continued a shakeup for the Wild that kicked off Monday when the Wild traded forward Jason Zucker to the Penguins.
After that move, Guerin said he expected players to react to the decision by being professional and showing up for the next game – which they did, blanking the Golden Knights 4-0. Following Boudreau's exit, Guerin's perspective didn't change.
"If players are hurt by this, then maybe they're not the players that we should have here," he said. "This is the business that we're in. It's unfortunate. It's always a sad time when you do this, but this is the business."
Evason ran his first practice Friday and although he kept the forward lines and defensive pairs the same, it'll be interesting to see how he decides to tweak the team. What's already clear, though, is the message he'll stress.
"We want the group to be accountable, and we want to be aggressive," Evason said. "If we make aggressive mistakes, you can live with them. If you make passive mistakes, they're hard to live with."
