Over the course of his hockey career, Andrew Brunette played for six different teams and has coached two more – including his current gig behind the bench for the Nashville Predators. So one would think that by now, walking into Grand Casino Arena some two decades after he spent three seasons in a Minnesota Wild sweater, it would feel like just another rink.
Not so.
“I think you always feel it,” Brunette said before his Preds faced the Wild on Tuesday night. He noted that while watching video of Minnesota’s previous game, versus Colorado, the Wild were decked out in replica sweaters from the early 2000s, when Brunette was a forward on the ice in St. Paul.
“It brings back a lot of memories for sure,” he said. “My whole tenure here was something I’ll never forget.”
And as the franchise celebrates 25 years, few Wild fans would argue that Brunette scored the biggest goal, so far, in Minnesota’s second stint with a NHL team. Round one of the 2003 playoffs, Game 7 in Denver versus the Avalanche, overtime, and Brunette stuffed the puck past legendary goalie Patrick Roy, giving the Wild their first-ever playoff series win.
“It was a little bit devastating for me. I was a big fan of Colorado back in the day because we used to live in Colorado and my dad coached there,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno recalled, conjuring up many details from a game he watched back home in Canada at age 12. The blow of seeing the Avalanche lose that one was softened a bit because Foligno and Brunette are both from Sudbury, Ontario.
“It was a heartbreaker, but it was also really cool, because it was a Sudbury kid that did it,” Foligno said. “Probably the biggest goal of his career. Crazy play, and then you could see Patty Roy, he always does that little head shake afterward. There was probably a swear word in French or something. That always sticks with me.”
Among the many historical photos of Wild games and stars from the past 25 years hanging in the Grand Casino Arena pressbox is one of Brunette, arms outstretched, mouth wide open as he skates away from the crease, without his stick, to celebrate the uncharted territory the Wild were visiting at that moment. Behind Brunette, one can see Roy, kneeling in some disbelief, as the final puck he faced in a hall of fame career eluded him. Roy retired after more than 1,200 games in the summer of 2003.
“Roy’s like, ‘If he scored on me, I’m done. I retire,’” Brunette joked about watching the play all these years later. “It’s funny, you see it and it looks so slow. And I thought it was actually fast.”
In his first season as a head coach, Brunette took over the Florida Panthers in October 2021 and led them to an Atlantic Division title and the NHL Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the best regular season record. But after a loss to rival Tampa Bay in round two of the playoffs that season, he was fired.
Brunette is currently in his third season as the head coach in Nashville.
“I think Bruno does a good job. I think he’s a smart guy, smart coach,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “His teams play with good structure and his teams have an offensive element. I think in his brain, his mind as a coach comes out in his teams.”
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