The incomparable Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports Minnesota Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire has decided to return for another season."When you are younger, it's a lot easier to make a decision,'' Lemaire said in a statement released by the team. "At the end of the year, I said I wanted to ask questions of Doug (president and general manager Doug Risebrough). I wanted to make sure my boss is happy with the work I am doing and with the way I manage the team. This is what we talked about in our meetings. I am reassured of my work and I want to coach again. My satisfaction behind the bench is getting the team to play the best it can, individually and as a group. Success will come with that.''Lemaire is the only coach the Wild have ever had. At age 62, he sounded after the season ended like a man who knows he won't be doing this coaching thing forever, but he didn't sound like a guy ready to hang it up.
Now the work begins. General manager Doug Risebrough may end up retooling the roster, as the Wild have 13 free agents. They had 14, but Petteri Nummelin has already decided to play in Europe.
Such a high number of contract-year players may have led to some selfish play during the regular season, but Russo has noted a couple different times that Lemaire was pleased with the team's effort during their first-round playoff loss to Colorado.
