Stanley Cup integrity remains intact, Wild coach says

Dean Evason said he doesn't think it would feel any differently if he coached the Minnesota Wild to a championship under the 24-team NHL Return to Play Plan than it would during normal circumstances.

"There's a Stanley Cup at the end here," Evason said Thursday. "… If somebody 20 years down the line says you know, 'Who won the Cup in 2020?' it's not going to be, 'Oh, that was the COVID year.' It's just going to be, 'The Minnesota Wild won the Stanley Cup.'"

Evason, who replaced Bruce Boudreau as Wild coach on Feb. 14, coached Minnesota to an 8-4-0 record before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

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The Wild (35-27-7, .558 points percentage) enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. They will play the No. 7 seed, the Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6; .565), in one of eight best-of-5 series, with the winner advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the loser having a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery.

"I think the players are excited about that opportunity," Evason said of reaching the playoffs. "Our goal is always to win the Stanley Cup, but we had to get in, in order to get there. We're there; we're in. ... If you can win that Stanley Cup, I assume, I hope that when you pick it up, it'll feel the exact same way."

Evason did not say whether he has spoken to general manager Bill Guerin regarding his job beyond the postseason but said he is approaching the qualifiers as an opportunity to help his cause and get the most out of his players in important games.

"I'd be lying if I said I don't think about what possibly could happen," Evason said, "but again, it's completely out of my control, so I'm going about my business ... My feeling is, I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world to be sitting here even if my job, there's an 'interim' in front of it, I'm a head coach in the NHL. ... I'm doing awesome.

"It's a pretty unique situation and a pretty unique job and a pretty special job. I don't take anything for granted and I know that I'm very fortunate to be in this spot."

The Wild have been skating in two groups as part of the Return to Play Plan. Phase 2, which began June 8, allowed for voluntary workouts on and off the ice in small groups at team facilities.

Veteran forward Zach Parise credited Evason for helping the Wild, one of the hottest teams in the NHL before the pause, play with much more pace. One player who has thrived under Evason is forward Kevin Fiala, who led Minnesota with 16 points (nine goals, seven assists), tied for sixth in the NHL, in the 12 games following the coaching change.

"We were playing a pretty slow style of hockey before [Evason was named coach], so we wanted to play faster, move the puck quicker and get our defensemen more involved," Parise said Wednesday. "[Evason] let players like Kevin take off and allowing guys to be comfortable making plays, trying stuff on the offensive side. It suited us a lot more and we got better playing that type of hockey."

Provided health and safety conditions allow, the opening of training camps in the teams' local markets, which is the start of Phase 3, is scheduled for July 13. Teams will then travel July 26 to one of two hub cities, where they will begin Phase 4, the resumption of play, with the qualifiers starting Aug. 1. The hub cities have not been announced.

Evason said the biggest challenge for his players won't be getting back into shape but rather finding a competitive edge given all the uncertainty and unprecedented circumstances.

"I think it's going to be mental," he said. "These are professional athletes. They don't get out of shape. It's a lifestyle. We have to be ultimately positive within our group and ready to play the game."