FanHouse Doug Risebrough

Chris Snow, director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild, is entering his fourth season with the team after spending a number of years covering the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe, and the Wild for the Star Tribune. He joined the team's hockey operations department when its general manager at the time, Doug Risebrough, was looking for something different in the front office.

"Doug was a really accomplished player," said Snow. "He played for a while in the NHL, but he was also a guy that was a free-thinker and really looked outside the box. He had a need for someone in the front office to do a variety of work, but I also think he wanted to look at the position with growth in mind."

UPDATE: The Devils have made it official.

It's a story that really isn't all that shocking at all. The only surprise might be how long it took for the move to be made.

The New Jersey Devils are going to replace coach Brent Sutter -- now with the Flames -- with a very familiar face. Former Devils coach Jacques Lemaire, who led New Jersey to the Stanley Cup in 1995, is reportedly set to make his return to the club as head coach.

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division.

It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.

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A crucial offseason, possibly the most significant in franchise history, is underway for the Minnesota Wild. Head coach Jacques Lemaire and general manager Doug Risebrough, the only people to ever hold those positions for the Wild, are both gone.

The process of finding a new general manager took precedent for owner Craig Leipold, and he made sure to take his time and get things right. After a series of interviews, and a list of candidates that included high-profile broadcaster Pierre McGuire, Leipold has settled on a front-office veteran with a track record of helping build winning teams.

When the Minnesota Wild fired longtime general manager Doug Risebrough April 16, it was obvious that the team was about to embark on the most significant offseason in its almost decade-long history. Relatively new owner Craig Leipold made it clear that the standard of mediocrity on the ice was not going to be allowed to stand.

In searching for a new person to lead the franchise, Leipold appears to have reached out to a great variance of candidates. The list of finalists reported by Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is quite intriguing, as is word of a Tuesday interview with one of the candidates.

In 2000, I had a chance to interview Doug Risebrough on a radio show I hosted in Duluth, Minn. It was an interesting conversation, and it was a bit of an education. Frankly, I didn't know a lot about hockey then, and I certainly didn't know a thing about building an expansion franchise from the ground up.

Nearly nine years later, Risebrough finds himself unemployed, fired as Minnesota Wild president and general manager by club owner Craig Leipold. While I was shocked by the move, it was one that I knew needed to happen. Given multiple chances at redemption, Risebrough could only destroy his chance of returning.

Speculation had been floating around for a while. A year ago, Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire decided to return, but only after consulting with general manager Doug Risebrough. He admitted he wanted Risebrough to tell him he could still coach, and it was an odd type of reassurance for a coach of Lemaire's stature to seek.

After the Wild closed out their season with a 6-3 win over Columbus Saturday, Lemaire announced he was stepping down as Wild coach.

When the NHL trade deadline passed Wednesday without the Minnesota Wild making a significant move, no one was really surprised. After all, the Wild have never really been known for their deadline aggression. Not only that, but they are on the fence when it comes to buying or selling, and those teams usually tend to stand pat at the deadline, hoping to sneak into the playoffs with what they already have.

General manager Doug Risebrough had a chance to do something significant Wednesday. Instead, he may have committed his biggest blunder by not pulling the trigger on a deal for his best player.

Full disclosure: I am a fan of the Minnesota Wild. I have been on the proverbial bandwagon since their inception, and I'm not the kind to switch teams or quit being a fan.

This has been a frustrating season. Marian Gaborik was injured early and has pretty much stayed that way since. The team is short on offensive talent and long on goaltending, and they've relied way too much on their defense to win games. With Gaborik on the way back, the Wild are trying to hang on in the playoff race until he returns. I have a better idea.

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The Clash once posed the question: Should I stay or should I go now? We take a look at the big names surrounding the NHL trade deadline and whether they'll be staying in place or going to finish the season in another city.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. After giving a contract extension the good ol' college try over the summer, Minnesota Wild general manager Doug Risebrough has watched his biggest trade asset blow up in smoke. Marian Gaborik has been injured for virtually the entire season, first going down the day before Minnesota's third game of the season. For the season, Gaborik has appeared in a paltry six games. With their best player spending too much time in the training room, it's no surprise the Wild are in a struggle for their playoff lives.