The Minnesota Wild have reportedly fired general manager Paul Fenton.
BREAKING: @TheAthleticMIN has learned that Paul Fenton has been fired as #mnwild GM after just one season. EXCLUSIVE STORY>>>https://t.co/ycC8kmYfkx
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 30, 2019
Minnesota Wild Fire GM Paul Fenton
The Minnesota Wild have parted ways with general manager Paul Fenton. Last season, the team had a record of 37 wins and 45 losses, 9 of which came in overtime and finished in the 7th spot in the Central Division.
Fenton had just been hired last season by the Minnesota Wild to be their GM after they fired Chuck Fletcher, however, in that time Fenton has been criticized for some questionable deals. After being around the league for many years, Fenton finally got his shot to be the GM, but it seems his tenure has been cut short due to a rough season for the Wild.
What This Means for the Team’s Future
The Wild fired Fenton just one year into his tenure, which isn’t something seen very often. The Wild traded Nino Niederreiter for Victor Rask, which saw Niederreiter go on to succeed in Carolina. Rask looks like he could be relegated to the 4th line next season.
After missing the playoffs last season, Fenton went out and signed Mats Zuccarello. Fenton also has almost traded Jason Zucker on multiple occasions. Last summer, after yet another first-round exit, Fenton only made minor tweaks for the fourth line and third pairing rather than make bigger changes that needed to be made.
The search for a new GM is said to start immediately. By firing Fenton now rather than giving him another year, like a lot of other organizations normally would, they decided to cut ties before Fenton could do any more damage to the organization. The Wild will have to find a new GM who can turn this team back around.
The Wild will potentially look at a more experienced candidate after Fenton didn’t work out like they initially hoped.
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