Many knew the Minnesota Wild weren't in a position to make any big moves this free agency, but they did acquire a number of minor league players to bolster their American Hockey League roster in preparation for future injuries like they did last season. One of the big signings was the acquisition of Yakov Trenin to add some bulk, but the other news was the addition of a new assistant coach to replace Darby Hendrickson, who was fired in late May.
Hendrickson quickly found another job, joining the Nashville Predators with former Wild teammate Andrew Brunette. Brunette is now the Predators' head coach and Hendrickson will be one of his assistant coaches. Jack Capuano, who has an NHL background, will replace Hendrickson. In this article, we'll look at Capuano's background, what he can bring to the team, and how that could help the team in the future. Let's start with his background and why he's the right fit for the role.
Capuano knows how to coach.
While it was tough for Wild fans to see Hendrickson leave, a Minnesota native, it seemed like it was time for a fresh start as the only Wild coach to survive multiple managerial changes. That's where Capuano comes in, and he brings a wealth of coaching experience, most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators for the past five seasons and spending two seasons with the Florida Panthers before that.
Prior to that, he was the head coach of the New York Islanders, which, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith, was likely one of the reasons general manager Bill Guerin brought in Capuano, as “NHL coaching experience was believed to be a prerequisite.” (From “Wild hire Jack Capuano as new assistant coach: What will his role be?”) AthleticHe spent 12 seasons with the Islanders in a variety of roles, including parts of seven as head coach and as an assistant coach, and prior to that he was with the team in the American Hockey League and also had a stint in the ECHL.
“He's coached at the international level and played at the NHL level. He knows what it takes to coach and play, so he understands both sides. We're looking forward to him using that experience to bring a fresh perspective on winning.”
Capuano brings experience
Most coaches who reach the NHL level have had a lot of experience either as a player or a coach or both. Capuano has both, and that should be an advantage because he can see things from a player's perspective as well as a coach's and combine both perspectives.
He found a way to lead his team to victory during his time as head coach of the Islanders, leaving the team with a record of 227 wins, 192 losses, 64 ties and three playoff appearances. According to the aforementioned Athletic article, those wins made him the second-winningest coach in history behind Al Arbour, who had 552 wins as a head coach.
He brings winning expertise, which is exactly what the Wild need. Hines is great, but it takes an entire core of leadership, not just one coach, to take a team deep in the playoffs. The same idea behind it is that it takes an entire team to win, not just one player. He can bring new ideas and hopefully change things for the better. Hines was good last season, but he just needs help stabilizing the team.
Capuano can contribute defensively.
According to Russo and Smith, Capuano has worked with Hines in the past, and another thing that caught Guerin's attention was that Capuano has worked with defenseman Jake Sanderson, which has led to the speculation that Capuano will work with the Wild's defenseman. Sanderson is a quality defenseman, and if Capuano helped develop Sanderson, it could go a long way in pointing Brock Faber, Declan Chisholm and the Wild's other young defensemen in the right direction.
Favre is already a great player, but he's still very young and the team will want to make sure he continues to develop. Having a coach who can help him do that is exactly what the team needs. In addition to defense, he's also been said to contribute on the penalty kill, which is something to keep an eye on.
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The penalty kill has always been shaky, sometimes very high and sometimes very low, so hopefully he can find a way to continue to be consistent and not the rollercoaster that it has been.
Wild made a good choice.
“Hendrickson was a great coach, but the NHL is a business and it was time to move on. Capuano has the experience to help take this team in a new direction and find consistency. I'm hopeful he can gel well and quickly find new ways to win games this season.”
