The Minnesota Wild and coach Mike Yeo have agreed to a multiyear contract extension, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Saturday. Terms were not disclosed.
"I am very excited to continue to coach the Minnesota Wild and pursue a Stanley Cup for the State of Hockey," Yeo said. "Our fan support has been amazing and it went to a new level during the playoffs this season. We are all motivated to reward them."
The signing comes less than three weeks after the Wild were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Second Round. The six-game loss was the furthest the Wild ventured in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2003.
"Very well-deserved," Wild forward Zach Parise told the Star Tribune. "I think he did a really good job -- [the entire coaching staff] all did a really good job -- down the stretch for us, especially in the playoffs. I mean, we were really prepared. We knew exactly what to expect. We exploited weaknesses. It’s a big chess game, the playoffs. I think they did a really good job making adjustments on the fly. It was real impressive."
In 2012-13, Yeo's second season with the Wild, Minnesota made the playoffs for the first time in five years.
The Wild went 43-27-12 this season; Yeo is 104-82-26 in three seasons.
"Mike has done a very good job the last three seasons as our head coach and we look forward to his leadership going forward," Fletcher said.
Yeo, 40, replaced Todd Richards as Wild coach in 2011. A former player who spent much of his professional career with the Houston Aeros of the International Hockey League, Yeo was an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins for four seasons. In 2010, he was hired to coach the Aeros, who by then were the American Hockey League affiliate for the Wild.
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