DETROIT, MICH -- The Red Wings have announced that the final coaching vacancy has been filled. John Torchetti, former interim coach of the Minnesota Wild has been hired.
We posted about Torchetti being a potential candidate in late May, and Joe Bouley over at Hockey Wilderness gave us a nice rundown on what kind of coach Torchetti is:
While the Wild hadn't been particularly good in the puck possession metrics all season long, those numbers took a hit when Torch took over. It was way more dump and chase. However, he got a fire lit underneath some of the more talented 20 somethings, namely Erik Haula, and got that line with Haula, Nino Niederreiter, and a resurgent Jason Pominville to carry the team to the post-season.