Marek Zidlicky is mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore!
Hockey players are usually pretty good about discussing their frustrations with their teammates and coaches before going to the media. But Zidlicky, one of the Minnesota Wild’s veteran defensemen, appears as though he has had enough with head coach Mike Yeo.
“I can’t be quiet,” Zidlicky told the Star Tribune. “I think three games healthy scratch, it’s more than just like a healthy scratch. [Yeo’s] put me in this position that I am in right now. It’s not easy for me. It’s good for team probably because the guys played pretty well the last two games, but for me, I did everything what he wants me to do.”
Zidlicky also explained that he feels ostracized by the coaching staff and that Yeo is trying to change his game.
“He doesn’t like what I’m doing,” Zidlicky said. “If I’m an offensive player, I’m supposed to play with the top guys. He should show me, ‘You are that guy, and you will be out there the last minute when we need to score.’ There was a lot of times when I just laid on the bench and just wait for my chance. We had a couple meetings about that after 10, 15 games in the season, and I can’t change my style. That’s what I know. That’s for sure. He wants to play easy hockey. I tried everything what he wants, but apparently it doesn’t work.”
Zidlicky may be taking his lack of playing time personally, but the numbers don’t lie. In the past 15 games without Zidlicky, the Wild are 12-3. In the past 16 games with him, they went 2-10-4. He has no goals and 11 assists in 34 games and is a minus-nine the past 13 games.
He has one more year left on his contract at $4 million, but after ripping on his head coach, you can expect the Wild to be shopping Zidlicky as the trade deadline approaches.
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