Call of the Wild wooes Jacques Lemaire into extension

(photo courtesy of www.startribune.com)

It's true the guy has been misjudged and taken for someone he is not (as a coach) quite often over the years. Those of us in the media who have "dumped and chased" coach Lemaire might as well follow the example of twincities.com columnist Tom Powers and eat the crow:

"On June 20, 2000, the lead story on the sports page was that Jacques Lemaire had been hired as coach of the fledgling Minnesota Wild. Down a bit from the banner headline was a column written by yours truly, wondering if Lemaire was the right choice for the job. My reasoning:

"This is not a young coach who can roll with the expansion punches."

For six years I've seen that column every time I've attended an event at the Xcel Energy Center. It's hanging in the media workroom. It used to be right near the door, where you couldn't miss it. Now it rests much higher, over a row of work cubicles. You'd have to climb up on a chair to read it. That's good.

I've had a slip-up or two over the years. Misjudging Lemaire is one of them. I figured he'd be in and out of here within a couple of years, bored and frustrated by a ragtag expansion team.

Well, I might take a bite of that crow as well, while I'm at it. I admit I definitely did not like some of the on-ice tactics that the former Minnesota Wild teams have applied under Lemaire. One explanation was that he had simply fitted the style to the personnel he used to have at hand. The 2000-2005 Twin Cities teams were made mostly of grit, stamina and backchecking.

The outlook for this season is different, though. Minny has acquired the likes of Pavol Demitra, Mark Parrish and Kim Johnsson to boost the already offensively potent lineup featuring Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. From the casual observer's vantage point they already managed to open up the ice and the scoring chances (and scoring itself) seem to come about in bunches.

And this is the real test of coach Lemaire. He already proved his worth (and earned the extension through 2010) in designing defensive patterns. Now comes the offense and taking the Wild deep into Stanley Cup playoffs on the shoulders of the young guns.

It is only then that the rest of the hockey world joins Tom Powers and myself at the table as crow saute will be being served.