Minnesota Wild name Dean Evason full-time head coach

The Minnesota Wild have announced interim head coach Dean Evason has been named the full-time head coach.

The Minnesota Wild‘s coaching search has come to an end. The team announced this morning that interim head coach Dean Evason’s interim tag has been removed and became the Wild’s fifth full-time head coach in franchise history.

Evason took over for as interim head coach for the Wild on February 14th after general manager Bill Guerin relieved Bruce Boudreau of his coaching duties. While being the interim head coach, Evason went 8-4 in the 12 games he coached leading up the NHL’s pause due to COVID-19.

Prior to Evason taking on the interim role with the Wild, he was hired to be an assistant coach under Bruce Boudreau in 2018. Before he joined the Wild as an assistant coach, Evason was the head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals from 2012 to 2018 where he ran a record of 242-161-53.

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This is a move that could pay off for Minnesota in the long run. Hiring Evason from within as opposed to hiring an outside candidate like Gerard Gallant or Peter Laviolette is a significant move. Evason has already built trust from his players, which has led the Wild to the Stanley Cup Qualifiers slated to begin in Edmonton on August 1st.

This news will bode well for players like Kevin Fiala, who played under Evason with the Milwaukee Admirals with their time in the Nashville system. According to NHL.com, Evason has signed a two-year extension with the Wild and will look to remain with the team until the end of the 2021-2022 season.

It is yet to be determined beyond the completion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, but at this current moment in time, Bob Woods and Darby Hendrickson appear to be the assistant coaches under Evason.

In the long run for the Wild, It could be a smart decision to retain Evason, who has a good reputation with developing young players. He has encouraged the veterans on the team, as well as Evason himself played for 14 years in the NHL himself from 1983-84 to the end of the 1995-96 season.

And just like that a huge vote of confidence from 1st-year General Manager Bill Guerin in which Dean Evason becomes his first coaching hire in his tenure. Was hiring Evason as full-time Head Coach worth it for the Wild? Only time will tell with the first challenge being the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.  All info is from NHL.com and hockeydb.com