Mike Yeo fired as coach by the Wild; John Torchetti will be named interim

He was let go soon after the Wild's 4-2 loss to the Bruins

By mikerusso

February 14, 2016 at 3:08AM

If you go to startribune.com/wild, all the coverage will be there

Not long after Mike Yeo said he not "quitting on this group" and was "operating under the assumption" he would be the Wild's coach on Sunday, General Manager Chuck Fletcher informed him he would not be.

A week after Fletcher said Yeo's job was safe, the 42-year-old confirmed to me via text that he was fired Saturday night not long after the Wild lost, 4-2, to the Boston Bruins. With the team spiraling uncontrollably in the Western Conference standings, the Wild was swept in a three-game homestand for the second time in four weeks.

It has lost eight in a row overall (0-6-2), eight in a row at home (0-5-3), 13 times in the past 14 games (1-11-2) and 16 times in 19 games in 2016 (3-12-4).

"I'm a realist. You can't lose every game and expect to think that there's not going to be changes," Yeo said after the game.

Yeo was 173-132-44 in parts of five seasons with the Wild. He was the league's fifth-most tenured coach.

There was no immediate word on who would be taking over. Iowa coach John Torchetti has been an interim coach in the past with Florida and Los Angeles and won a Stanley Cup as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks.

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