Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo is, for lack of a better term, pissed.
That much at least is apparent from the video making the rounds today of the usually reserved Yeo's response to the Wild's performance in practice earlier in the day.
The Wild, again expected to be one of the league's elite teams this season, instead find themselves 18-15-5 and in sixth place in the Central.
Their most recent game, a frustrating 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, probably played a part in Yeo blowing his top and storming off the ice at practice on Wednesday.
The team continued the practice without Yeo, while, as Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Michael Russo notes, assistant GM Brent Flahr and director of hockey administration Shep Harder left the stands when Yeo headed to the locker room.
With talents like Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter, it's hard to point to a reason for the Wild's continued struggles.
Yes, Thomas Vanek has been a "poor fit" as TSN's Elliotte Friedman noted on Monday. And he's got strange gambling issues to boot.
And yes, the team's goaltending has been exceedingly poor this season.
It's not what Wild fans want to hear, but things could be on the verge of getting even worse for Minnesota, according to Yahoo! Sports' Josh Cooper.
Under Yeo, the Wild have historically struggled in the second half of the season. In Yeo's first year, the team entered Dec. 20-7-3 before finishing 35-36-11. In the lockout season, they entered the latter portion of the season with a 21-11-2 record, only to falter and miraculously back their way into the playoffs despite a 26-19-3 finish.
Perhaps Yeo, feeling the heat from the fans and from his bosses and uncertain of how to right the ship and, possibly further, sensing the end of his time in Minnesota drawing near, allowed his frustrations to finally boil over.
