Another Wild Losing Streak Means… Another Players-Only Meeting

How many players-only meetings will it take to fix the Minnesota Wild? Nobody can be quite sure. One thing is certain, however, they’re determined to find out.

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Closed Door, Players-Only Meeting Time

So after an embarrassing 6-0 blowout loss vs the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night, Wild players closed the locker room doors to media and coaches for what we believe is the first time since John Hynes took over as head coach. It most definitely is not the first time this season, though.

Hynes said this was a players only meeting. https://t.co/WmRXFOALIC

— Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) January 14, 2024

#mnwild room still closed. Feels like a players-only meeting kind of night.

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) January 14, 2024

The Wild have now lost eight of their last nine games and, after John Hynes got off to an 11-3 start when he took over as head coach, Minnesota’s season is back on the ropes. Kirill Kaprizov’s return couldn’t ignite any fires and Filip Gustavsson gave up 5 goals on 18 shots in his return between the pipes, before he was relieved by Fleury in the 2nd period.

After the game, John Hynes told media, “It was great to have [Kaprizov and Gustavsson] back in the lineup but our team performance wasn’t close to where it needed to be”, which may be the understatement of the season.

Are the Minnesota Wild as good as dead?

As of today, the Minnesota Wild (39 points) sit in 7th place in the Central Division and 13th (of 16) in the Western Conference. Last night’s loss vs Arizona dropped them 5 points behind the 12th place Coyotes, too. [Insert ‘Not great, Bob!’ GIF here].

Related: Wild Rookie Brock Faber Wants All the Minutes and No Credit

But there is some positive news, to close. A lot of teams get into the NHL playoffs, these days. So even after dropping four-straight games (and eight of their last nine), the Wild are only back 8 points in the race for the West’s final wildcard spot, which is currently held by Edmonton (47 points).

So if the Wild can “get their game in order”, as Hynes put it, the season is still salvageable. But if you’ve watched this team perform recently, it’s hard to see that ‘if’ turning into reality. But who knows, maybe a few more players-only closed door meetings can get them there.