#mnwild considering 3rd assistant, maybe an ex-Wild fan favorite; Later deadlines mean better papers

Afternoon from my "holiday." I just went down to Stillwater for a cool day. Good news, I went into an antique store and nearly bought a Lou Nanne autographed puck for $49. But then I texted Nanne and he said he'd autograph a puck for me for 5 cents.

One text, and I saved $48.95.

Just wanted to hop on and give you an update on the Wild assistant coaching search to replace Mike Ramsey. Basically, it should be resolved by next week. I still believe Rick Wilson and Kurt Kleinendorst are two of the frontrunners for the position, but Richards and GM Chuck Fletcher have a short list that they're working through.

But I also have learned that the Wild is at least considering hiring a third assistant coach to join Dave Barr and Ramsey's ultimate replacement as Richards' assistants.

This is not a guarantee because GM Chuck Fletcher still hasn't decided whether he wants to hire a third assistant or another North American scout. It could be one or the other, or neither.

But if Fletcher ultimately decides to hire the third assistant, I hear it's likely to be a young guy and a very recent former player. Two of the candidates I'm hearing are former Wild fan favorites Darby Hendrickson and Wes Walz.

Hendrickson, 37, -- aka, Darbs -- is a native of Richfield, a former Mr. Hockey Minnesota and a former Gopher. He's currently an FSN analyst, the Northwest Division NHLPA advisor to players and, of course, he scored the first Wild goal in Xcel Energy Center history. He's also a cool dude with cool hair.

Yes, I had a dream about Walz, which is mortifying in itself.

So again, it's not definite the Wild will hire a third assistant, but these are two of the candidates if they do.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to let Star Tribune readers in on some recent changes at the paper.

The Star Tribune recently pushed back deadlines for many of our editions. That will help all of our metro readers, but especially ones in the south and east like St. Paul. It means a more complete newspaper, especially in sports, on your doorstep if you subscribe.

I've gotten emails in the past from readers who cancelled their subscriptions because they weren't getting the most up to date Wild stories or late scores in your home edition. But I'm told if it's a 7 p.m. home game, if you live in the south and east now, you should get the most up to date stories.

Lastly, because there's always a lastly, just a reminder that the "Herbie's Heroes All-Star Benefit" is Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Super Rinks (sheet No. 6) in Blaine. It should be fun as celebrity and former NHL players take on active duty service members from Minnesota. This is a partnership between the Herb Brooks Foundation and Defending the Blue Line, which is a really cool charity that Brent Burns is involved with.