The Minnesota Wild announced that they have parted ways with assistant coach Darby Hendrickson after 14 years. This comes partly as a surprise given that Hendrickson has been the only coach able to keep his job despite numerous changes over the years. Hendrickson has served under six of the Wild’s seven head coaches in their history. The only coach he didn’t work under (Jacques Lemaire) was the original head coach of the Wild and coached Hendrickson as a player for the first four years that the Wild existed.
A native of Minnesota, Hendrickson was a Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner in 1991 and attended the University of Minnesota. He played a major part in helping the Wild to advance to the 2003 Western Conference final. He also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and the Colorado Avalanche. Hendrickson also represented the United States at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Hendrickson has long been an interesting figure in the coaching staff, seemingly the only coach who had a lock on his position. He worked with Todd Richards, Mike Yeo, John Trochetti, Bruce Boudreau, Dean Evason, and John Hynes. Not only was he a popular player for the Wild, but his personality made him easy to work with under the carousel of head coaches.
This year was one of the biggest changes with Dean Evason and Bob Woods being let go in November after a terrible start to the Wild’s season. While Hendrickson was able to hang on through the 2023-24 season, this might be a sign that Hynes is looking to bring in some assistants of his own choosing. After signing a multi-year contract with the Wild, it makes sense that Hynes would be looking to make some changes.
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