Times are tough right now for Bruce Boudreau and the Minnesota Wild.
The team dropped its fourth consecutive loss last night since the All-Star break at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, falling 4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota has been held to just a single goal in two of those four contests and its become clear at this point that Boudreau is fed up with his team’s play. Following the loss, the 64-year-old blasted his troops, arguing that many of them look like a shell of the player he’s gotten to know over the past two and a half years.
A statement like this is nothing new from Boudreau, who’s been known to publicly lean into his team with the media in the past. On January 13 after a 5-2 loss to the Red Wings, he directly called out franchise players Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund in another lengthy rant.
Ouch.
To make matters worse, the Wild lost captain Mikko Koivu for the season last week after the organization announced he had torn his ACL. Koivu is the franchise’s all-time leader with 688 points.
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Despite their struggles, the Wild currently hold onto the Western Conference’s first Wild-Card sport with 57 points. Each of Boudreau’s teams have made it to the postseason in Minnesota so don’t be surprised if another rant like this comes out if his players continue to struggle.
(H/T Michael Russo)
