Former Wild coach Yeo: Getting fired 'buckled me'

Mike Yeo might have seen the writing on the wall before being fired by the Minnesota Wild, but the former head coach admitted Wednesday that it still affected him.

"I wasn't prepared for what it would feel like. ... When it first happened, it buckled me," Yeo told Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Yeo said things just didn't seem right, even when the Wild were winning earlier in the season.

"We had the best (first half) in franchise history, and things never felt right."

Even though the Wild's previous success ultimately played a role in his dismissal, Yeo said he was most proud of the fact that the Wild raised expectations.

Minnesota fired Yeo on Feb. 13 after suffering their eighth straight defeat, a 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins.

After the game, the 42-year-old said, "I'm a realist. You can't lose every game and expect to think that there's not going to be changes."

Yeo conceded Wednesday that trade rumors proved to be a distraction, particularly the team's pursuit of Ryan Johansen before the forward was dealt to the Nashville Predators, according to Chad Graff of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

He also said the Wild would have made the playoffs had he not been fired.

As for the immediate future, Yeo has some big things on the agenda.