The Minnesota Wild have announced that they will not renew the contract of executive vice- president and general manager Chuck Fletcher. Fletcher has been the general manager of the Wild for the last nine years. The team made the announcement on their official Twitter account.
NEWS: #mnwild owner Craig Leipold announced the organization will not renew the contract of Executive Vice President and General Manager Chuck Fletcher → https://t.co/PjYXn3rU5p pic.twitter.com/5H65dDAQUw
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 23, 2018
Chuck Fletcher and Minnesota Wild Part Ways
The Minnesota Wild have parted ways with general manager and executive vice-president Chuck Fletcher. This season the Wild went 45-26-11 and were third in the Central Divison. The Wild fell in five games to the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Over his nine years as general manager of the Wild, they went 359-265-80. His greatest season was during 2012-13 when the Wild went to the Western Conference Quarter-Finals but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in four games. The Wild have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the last six years. This the longest playoff streak in Minnesota Wild team history.
One of his biggest moves he made as general manager was signing forward Zach Parise and defencemen Ryan Suter to matching 13-year, $98 dollar contacts back in 2012. Fletcher also made a strong move in signing centre Eric Staal to a three-year deal in 2016. Staal has seemed rejuvenated in Minnesota. His best trade was likely the move to acquire goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes. Dubnyk would go on to become a top goaltender in the league, and a Vezina-nominee in Minnesota.
Before joining the Wild in 2009 he was the assistant general manager under Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero.
What This Means for the Team’s Future
After firing Fletcher the club announced that Brent Flahr will be the team’s interim general manager. Flahr has been Fletcher’s, right-hand man since July of 2009. I want to thank Chuck Fletcher for his substantial contributions to our franchise over the past nine years,” owner Craig Leipold said in a statement. “Through his strong work ethic, integrity and vision, Chuck and his staff built a winning culture and a perennial playoff team.”
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