If the Minnesota Wild intend to move on from Mike Yeo, it won't be due to a resignation.
The head coach pulled goaltender Darcy Kuemper when the Wild got within two goals of the Boston Bruins late in a 4-2 loss on Saturday, and Yeo said that showed he doesn't plan on giving up on the team.
"I had a chance when (Mike Reilly) scored, you’re down two goals and we’ve got 30 seconds left, are we going to tie the game up? No. So I could have not pulled the goalie, but the message is pretty simple: I’m not freaking quitting here, and I’m not quitting on this group," Yeo told reporters postgame, according to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"I’m going to show some fight, and I believe in the group, but (we) better start believing in each other and better start delivering."
The Wild have lost eight consecutive games to fall three points out of a Western Conference playoff spot, and Yeo knows that might cost him his job.
“I’m a realist," he said. "You can’t lose every game and expect to think that there’s not going to be changes. I’m operating under the assumption that I’ll be the coach tomorrow, and I know what I’m going to do and it’s going to be something different from what we’ve done."
Yeo isn't concerning himself with whether or not the players have quit on him.
"I don’t worry about that. Those are things that are out of my control," he said. "I worry about the things that are in my control. Like I said, I know what I’m going to do tomorrow and I’m ready for that."
The Wild have gone 173-132-44 in five seasons under Yeo, and have qualified for the playoffs in three of those campaigns, but they've failed to make it past the second round.
