Report: Wild's Dean Evason 'very much in trouble now'

The winds have shifted in the State of Hockey as the Wild continue losing.

Dean Evason's job may be in danger as the Minnesota Wild have gone three weeks without a win and being outscored 28-13 during their current seven-game losing streak. 

Just five days ago TSN's Chad Johnston said Evason was not in imminent danger of being fired:  "At this point, the sense is he's not in imminent danger. I think that's mainly because management looks at this roster and says, 'It's not a trade away from being fixed. It's not a coaching change away from being fixed. It's up to the best players on this team to pull them through what's been a difficult stretch.'"

But the winds are apparently shifting. The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith wrote Monday that their "sense" is that while Evason "was relatively safe a few days ago, that has changed" after Sunday's loss to the Red Wings. 

They go on to say that general manager Bill Guerin "doesn't want to fire Evason," but include ominous phrases like "Evason is very much in trouble now," and "Now it does feel like his job status is day-to-day."

These are harrowing times for the Wild, who at 5-10-4 are off to the worst 20-game start (Tuesday night against the Blues is the 20th game) since the 2000-01 expansion Wild. And the Wild aren't just getting unlucky. They're getting smoked. 

"I think the frustrations turning to anger," Evason said Sunday. "We've gotta change something. It can't just continue to be, you know, 'good effort, we out-shot them, we had lots of chances.' We're still losing. Gotta find a way to win."

Minnesota's goaltending has been putrid and the penalty kill is far and away the worst in the NHL at 66.7%. Kirill Kaprizov is not playing like the star he was a year ago and Matt Boldy's regression has been astounding. 

Kaprizov has six goals and 12 assists after scoring 40 goals with 35 assists last season. Boldy has one goal and seven assists in 12 games after he had 31 goals and 32 assists last season. 

The drop off this season has been quite stark for the team's top players. Star winger Kirill Kaprizov scored 40 goals and had 35 assists last season, so far through 17 games this season he has just five goals and 10 assists. Matt Boldy had 31 goals and 32 assists last season but now has just one goal to seven assists through 10 games played this season.

"That's what pisses us off, right? That's what makes you mad," Evason added Sunday. "The same mistakes, same guys that are not pulling their weight and same mistakes that happen most nights and don't allow us to have a true-true chance of winning a hockey game."