Wild fire Yeo, hire Torchetti as replacement

Mike Yeo was fired as coach of the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and replaced by Iowa Wild coach John Torchetti.
Minnesota lost 4-2 at home to the Boston Bruins earlier Saturday; it was the Wild's eighth straight loss and 13th in 14 games. They are 23-22-10, sixth in the Central Division.

Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher last Saturday said Yeo's job was not in jeopardy.
"I know what he said the other day and I'm a realist," Yeo said following the loss to the Bruins. "You can't lose every game and expect to think there are not going to be changes …
"That's what happens [when] you lose; you are looking for a response, you need a response. Whether it's changing players, changing [the] coach or not doing anything, you're either going to get a response from the group and you're going to change things, or you're not and you're not going to change things."

Torchetti, 51, takes over as interim coach, Fletcher said. The coach of Minnesota's American Hockey League affiliate since Nov. 11, 2014, Torchetti has served as interim coach for the Florida Panthers (2003-04; 27 games) and Los Angeles Kings (2005-06; 12 games). He also has been an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Torchetti spent the 2013-14 season as coach of CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League. He played seven seasons of minor-league hockey.
Yeo, 42, had been Minnesota's coach since 2011-12 and was 173-132-44. The Wild reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past three seasons and were eliminated in the Western Conference Second Round by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014 and 2015. Minnesota was 46-28-8 last season, the second-most wins and points in its history.
"I would like to thank Mike for the hard work and dedication he provided behind the bench for the Minnesota Wild organization and wish him the best in the future," Fletcher said in a statement.
This was Yeo's first NHL job as coach, after he was an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he won the 2009 Stanley Cup on Dan Bylsma's staff. Yeo was the youngest coach in the NHL when he was hired in June 2011 to replace Todd Richards as the third coach in Wild history.
Yeo coached Houston of the American Hockey League 2010-11, and the Wild affiliate reached the Calder Cup Finals after going 46-28-1-5.