When Chuck Fletcher was hired as only the second general manager in Minnesota Wild team history, he was viewed as a young up and coming personnel type with a legendary father. The younger Fletcher gained his own experience in three previous front office positions in Florida (1993-2002), Anaheim (2002-2006), and Pittsburgh (2006-2009) before being hired in 2009 by new Wild owner Craig Leipold.
Fletcher arrived in Minnesota when the franchise was in its darkest hours with the fan base losing its resolve to support the team that it had been committed to during the first nine seasons selling out every home game and making sure the state of hockey supported the NHL. Fletcher was becoming a first time top NHL personnel after being an assistant in previous NHL stops and even an interim in Florida.
Some of NHL’s Best Front Offices Provided Chuck Fletcher Education Required to Turn Around Minnesota Wild
Beyond being the son of the legendary Cliff Fletcher, the younger Fletcher was provided his front office education by the very best in the business. Most notably Fletcher was on the staffs of Brian Burke, Ray Shero, and Brian Murray. All of that knowledge and experience would be needed to rehab a Minnesota Wild franchise left nearly talent bankrupt in the wake of the departures of the only general manager Doug Risebrough and head coach Jacques Lemaire in franchise history.
Fletcher and his front office staff and scouting department have built the Wild to compete now and for years to come with consistently strong drafts, free agent signings both headline making and under the radar, and savvy trades. In the same way Wild fans looked to franchises like St. Louis and Chicago as the blueprint for how to conduct a complete rebuild, Fletcher’s remarkable repair and reinforcement of the Wild has to be on the forefront for NHL franchises looking to compile assets and change their culture to return to winning hockey.
I have previously documented how this current Minnesota Wild roster was built here:
https://test.thehockeywriters.com/the-2013-14-minnesota-wild-roster/
The Wild are just now reaping the rewards of Fletcher’s first three season as the team’s top personnel decision maker. The graduation of their top prospects from the 2010 NHL draft is truly the signature highlight of Fletcher first five years on the job obviously besides the July 4th mega signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. I contend though without Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Brett Bulmer, Johan Larsson, Jason Zucker, and Johan Gustafsson all selected in 2010 NHL draft and in system maybe Parise and Suter don’t see the future as being as bright here in Minnesota.
There is no doubt that the current Wild roster is the most talented in franchise history and in addition to that the organization depth of young players is among the best in the NHL. Chuck Fletcher has earned an extension in Minnesota and the state of hockey is fortunate that the Wild are positioned to be a contender for years to come. Fletcher has earned his place in the conversation among the NHL top decision makers.
Chuck Fletcher’s Draft Selection 2009 to Present Minnesota Wild
2009 1 16 Nick Leddy D
2009 3 77 Matt Hackett G
2009 4 103 Kris Foucault LW
2009 4 116 Alexander Fallstrom RW
2009 6 161 Darcy Kuemper G
2009 6 163 Jere Sallinen W
2009 7 182 Erik Haula LW
2009 7 193 Anthony Hamburg C
2010 1 9 Mikael Granlund C
2010 2 39 Brett Bulmer LW
2010 2 56 Johan Larsson C
2010 2 59 Jason Zucker F
2010 6 159 Johan Gustafsson G
2010 7 189 Dylen McKinlay RW
2011 1 10 Jonas Brodin D
2011 1 28 Zack Phillips C
2011 2 60 Mario Lucia LW
2011 5 131 Nick Seeler D
2011 6 161 Stephen Michalek G
2011 7 191 Tyler Graovac C
2012 1 7 Mathew Dumba D
2012 2 46 Raphael Bussieres LW
2012 3 68 John Draeger D
2012 4 98 Adam Gilmour C
2012 5 128 Daniel Gunnarsson D
2012 6 158 Christopher Bertschy C
2012 7 188 Louis Nanne LW
2013 2 46 Gustav Olofsson D
2013 3 81 Kurtis Gabriel RW
2013 4 107 Dylan Labbe D
2013 5 137 Carson Soucy D
2013 6 167 Avery Peterson C
2013 7 197 Nolan DeJong D
2013 7 200 Alexandre Belanger G
Chuck Fletcher’s Complete List of Trades as Minnesota Wild General Manager
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Buffalo Sabres acquire
Matt Moulson
Cody McCormick
March 5, 2014
Torrey Mitchell
2014 2nd round pick
2016 2nd round pick
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Edmonton Oilers acquire
Ilya Bryzgalov
March 4, 2014
2014 4th round pick
San Jose Sharks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Chad Rau
February 5, 2014
Curt Gogol
Winnipeg Jets acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Devin Setoguchi
July 5, 2013
2014 2nd round pick
New York Islanders acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
2013 3rd round pick
Cal Clutterbuck
June 30, 2013
Nino Niederreiter
New York Rangers acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Justin Falk
June 30, 2013
Benn Ferriero
2014 6th round pick
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Buffalo Sabres acquire
Jason Pominville
2014 4th round pick
April 3, 2013
Matt Hackett
Johan Larsson
2013 1st round pick
2014 2nd round pick
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Anaheim Ducks acquire
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers
April 3, 2013
Future considerations
Washington Capitals acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Chay Genoway
March 14, 2013
2014 conditional 7th round pick
Ottawa Senators acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Matt Kassian
March 12, 2013
2014 6th round pick
Minnesota Wild acquire Date New York Rangers acquire
Mike Rupp
February 4, 2013
Darroll Powe
Nick Palmieri
Boston Bruins acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Greg Zanon
February 27, 2012
Steven Kampfer
Edmonton Oilers acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Nick Schultz
February 27, 2012
Tom Gilbert
New Jersey Devils acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Marek Zidlicky
February 24, 2012
Kurtis Foster
Nick Palmieri
Stephane Veilleux
2012 2nd round pick
2013 conditional pick
Minnesota Wild acquire Date New York Rangers acquire
Erik Christensen
Conditionnal 2013 7th round pick
February 3, 2012
Casey Wellman
Dallas Stars acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Eric Nystrom
October 12, 2011
Future considerations
Minnesota Wild acquire Date San Jose Sharks acquire
2013 3rd round pick
August 7, 2011
James Sheppard
San Jose Sharks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Martin Havlat
July 3, 2011
Dany Heatley
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Philadelphia Flyers acquire
Darroll Powe
June 27, 2011
2013 3rd round pick
Vancouver Canucks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
2011 3rd round pick (#70-David Honzik)
2011 4th round pick (#100-Joseph Labate)
June 25, 2011
2011 2nd round pick (#60-Mario Lucia)
San Jose Sharks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Brent Burns
2012 2nd round pick
June 24, 2011
Charlie Coyle
Devin Setoguchi
2011 1st round pick (#28-Zack Phillips)
New Jersey Devils acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Maxim Noreau
June 16, 2011
David McIntyre
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Columbus Blue Jackets acquire
future considerations
March 1, 2011
Petr Kalus
Boston Bruins acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Anton Khudobin
February 28, 2011
Jeff Penner
rights to Mikko Lehtonen
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Florida Panthers acquire
2010 2nd round pick (#59-Jason Zucker)
June 26, 2010
2010 3rd round pick (#69-Joe Basaraba)
2010 4th round pick (#99-Joonas Donskoi)
San Jose Sharks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
2010 5th round pick (#129-Freddie Hamilton)
June 21, 2010
Brad Staubitz
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Washington Capitals acquire
2010 2nd round pick (#56-Johan Larsson)
March 3, 2010
Eric Belanger
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Chicago Blackhawks acquire
Cam Barker
February 12, 2010
Kim Johnsson
Nick Leddy
Montreal Canadiens acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Benoit Pouliot
November 23, 2009
Guillaume Latendresse
Boston Bruins acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire
Craig Weller
2011 2nd round pick (#40-Alexander Khokhlachev)
rights to Alexander Fallstrom
October 18, 2009
Chuck Kobasew
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Edmonton Oilers acquire
2009 6th round pick (#160-Darcy Kuemper)
rights to Kyle Brodziak
June 27, 2009
2009 4th round pick (#99-Kyle Bigos)
2009 5th round pick (#132-Olivier Roy)
Minnesota Wild acquire Date New York Islanders acquire
2009 1st round pick (#16-Nick Leddy)
2009 3rd round pick (#77-Matt Hackett)
2009 7th round pick (#181-Erik Haula)
June 26, 2009
2009 1st round pick (#12-Calvin de Haan)