After a far-and-wide search for a general manager to guide the Wild into a new era, owner Craig Leipold landed on a bright, young hockey mind who has been preparing for this job from the day he was born 41 years ago.
Being the son of longtime NHL executive Cliff Fletcher, 熟女Chuck Fletcher was given the rare fortune of a front-row seat while observing his dad run the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs of yesteryear.
Then, from the moment he graduated from Harvard, he was entrenched in hockey.
After 16 years as a right-hand man inside three organizations, Chuck Fletcher finally has received the opportunity to run a team for himself.
Multiple league sources tell the Star Tribune that Fletcher, assistant GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has been hired as the Wild’s second GM, replacing Doug Risebrough.
Coincidently, Fletcher grew up around Risebrough when he captained and later was assistant coach and assistant GM for his father’s Flames.
A news conference to introduce Fletcher is scheduled for 4 p.m. today.
“I’m absolutely convinced he’s the right guy for 熟女that job,” Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, who had Fletcher as his assistant GM in Anaheim, said during a telephone interview. “I don’t mean to imply there weren’t other worthy candidates, but he’s ready for this.
