ST. PAUL, Minn., April 16 (UPI) -- The NHL's Minnesota Wild franchise has fired Doug Risebrough, its president and general manager since 1999.
Risebrough, the only general manager in the Wild's history, helped lead Minnesota to the Western Conference finals in the 2002-03 season and three other playoff appearances during his tenure.
"I cannot begin to thank Doug enough for all that he has done for this organization over the past nine years," team owner Craig Leipold said. "When he arrived, he brought instant credibility expertise and extraordinary work ethic to an expansion franchise in desperate need of those things."
Leipold added that a search for a new general manager will begin immediately, and his responsibility will be to replace former head coach Jacques Lemaire, who resigned Monday after the Wild missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04 with their 40-33-9 record, good for ninth place in the Western Conference.
