The Wild is in the familiar position of chasing one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference — essentially, this year, a two-team race between Minnesota and Colorado for the very last spot. The Wild has been one of the two lowest seeds each of the past three seasons while making the playoffs each time — scoring a first-round upset each of the past two seasons.
This year, though, is different. The Wild arrived here carrying not only the burden of expectations but also a midyear firing of head coach Mike Yeo. As such, the question posed to readers on Twitter and Facebook today was simple:
What's the minimum the Wild needs to accomplish this season for you to want to see John Torchetti hired full time as coach and Chuck Fletcher kept as GM? I don't think it's far-fetched to say a trip to the Western Conference Finals is the minimum requirement; readers expressed varying levels of optimism, pessimism and seriousness.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
