Wild Fires Coach Todd Richards

After a terrible season where the Wild finished 12th in the Western Conference and  failed to advance to the playoffs the Wild fired coach Todd Richards today.

At a news conference at Xcel Energy Center, Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher called Richards "a good coach; a good hockey coach."

"His work ethic was unbelievable. His passion to win was great," Fletcher said. "But, ultimately, it's my responsibility to make the right decision for the organization. And I felt going forward we needed a new voice and a new direction and I made the decision to let Todd go."

According to sources, assistant coach Dave Barr and video coach PJ DeLuca also were fired. The other assistants are all in limbo. Rick Wilson is the only one with one year left on his deal, and Fletcher said the new coach will not have "complete control" of hiring his new staff.

Richards had basically been on the hot seat long before training camp, but that subsided when the team settled down in late December and played strong hockey for 2 1/2 months. But the last time the Wild was in the top-eight was after an overtime win in Anaheim on Feb. 25.

The Wild missed the playoffs for the third year in a row, second under Richards. The team, which played in front of non-sellout crowds for the first time in its history, spent close to $60 million in payroll, near the maximum allowed by the NHL salary cap.

Richards, who had one more year left on his contract, was hired in June 2009 to transform the organization. He was the young face with brown hair, a Minnesota native and 21 years younger than the only previous coach in franchise history - Jacques Lemaire. Richards' task was to end the years of conservative hockey with a fresh, up-tempo attacking system.

[via StarTribune]