The Minnesota Wild have an in-house replacement for Mike Yeo.
Hours after the team confirmed the firing of their head coach, the Wild officially promoted John Torchetti of the Iowa Wild as interim head coach.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the news Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.
“(Iowa) is playing (Saturday) night. Torchetti is coaching that team,” Friedman said. “The Wild are practicing at home (Sunday) before they go to Vancouver. I don’t think this is what (general manager) Chuck Fletcher wanted to do. He had tried to make a trade but teams are asking for pieces that he doesn’t want to give up. Guys like Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter. They offered Jonas Brodin to Columbus for Ryan Johansen. They were stuck so unfortunately Yeo takes it.”
Torchetti, who has spent the past two seasons with Iowa, the Wild’s AHL affiliate, has had previous head coaching stops with CSKA Moscow and the AHL’s Houston Aeros.
He also spent time as an assistant coach at the NHL level with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, and the now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers.
Minnesota has recorded one win since Jan. 10.
