Penguins' Chuck Fletcher to Be Wild GM

A crucial offseason, possibly the most significant in franchise history, is underway for the Minnesota Wild. Head coach Jacques Lemaire and general manager Doug Risebrough, the only people to ever hold those positions for the Wild, are both gone.

The process of finding a new general manager took precedent for owner Craig Leipold, and he made sure to take his time and get things right. After a series of interviews, and a list of candidates that included high-profile broadcaster Pierre McGuire, Leipold has settled on a front-office veteran with a track record of helping build winning teams.

Chuck Fletcher, who has spent 16 years working in the NHL, will reportedly be named the Wild's second general manager on Friday.

Fletcher is just 41, but has quite an impressive track record.

He's a rarity because he negotiates contracts, like the $58 million Pavel Bure deal in Florida, and helps scout and draft players. It's a team effort, obviously, but some of the best include Ed Jovanovski, Rob Niedermayer, Rhett Warrener, Kristian Huselius, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Joffrey Lupul and Bobby Ryan.

Fletcher played a huge part in the Panthers' 1993 expansion draft that turned into the core (John Vanbiesbrouck, Scott Mellanby, Brian Skrudland, Tom Fitzgerald and Bill Lindsay the most notables) of Florida's 1996 run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

He also has been to the Finals with Anaheim and Pittsburgh.

The son of longtime NHL executive Cliff Fletcher, Chuck Fletcher is seen as a real up-and-comer among NHL executives, and he has already earned a ton of respect.

"It's his time to be a GM," (Bryan) Murray, now Ottawa's GM, told the Star Tribune earlier this month. "He's an intelligent guy -- I used to say young guy, but he's getting up there now. The most important thing to being a GM is your people skills, and he's real classy in that regard and has earned the respect of the players because of his treatment of them.

"It's so important to have a guy who knows how to negotiate contracts, and he's such a strong candidate for Minnesota also because he understands what it takes to play in this league."

Needless to say, this is a very important hire for the Wild, and the early reviews are bound to be positive. Fletcher inherits a team that didn't miss the playoffs by much in 2008-2009, but there is significant work to be done in rebuilding the depth in the farm system and figuring out what has to be done to improve the NHL roster.

A quick phone call to Marian Gaborik probably wouldn't hurt much, either.