The Sports Corner

Boring hockey ends in Minny as Lemaire quits

After eight seasons as coach of the Minnesota Wild, Jacques Lemaire has called it quits, much to the delight of well, the rest of the league.

Maybe now, fans and players won’t have to suffer through the boring trap style or the put-opponents-to-sleep tactics of the Wild.

Can we get three cheers in the Northwest?

But it’s not as if Lemaire is gone from the NHL for good, as he has already noted that the search for a new NHL job -most likely not with Minnesota- is already in the works. As for his tenure as head coach with the Wild, well, he has been the franchise’s only benchboss since the expansion, and had led the team to the Western finals in 2003.

Despite rumours of a rift between the players and the coach, Lemaire says that it’s just the right timing for him to be moving on.

“I think it’s time for the players to get a new coach and myself to look for other stuff,” Lemaire told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Saturday following a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. “I always said there’ll be a time. There comes a time that you know it’s the right time to go, and I know this.”

It’s obvious that the times are changing for Minnesota, as their star forward Marian Gaborik will become an unrestricted free agent in July and most predict that he won’t be back as a Wild next season.

Having not reached the playoffs this year after winning the Northwest title the season before will no doubt bring revision to the team, and Lemaire beat the GM to the punch by quitting before getting fired, although that’s not for certain.

It won’t be hard for Lemaire to find another gig in the league, as he does have a brilliant hockey mind - albeit a downer to the entertainment aspect of the game. Whether it be in upper-management or behind the bench, Lemaire will continue to make an impact in the league.

Just not for Minnesota. And it’s probably fair to say on behalf of most Western Conference teams, good riddance.