BREAKING: GM addresses “Wholesale changes” in Wild press conference

Wild GM and Head Coach speak about offseason plans, team's shortcomings, expectations for next season

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
BREAKING: GM addresses “Wholesale changes” in Wild press conference
KEYSTONE PRESS

Chuck Fletcher, the General Manager of the Minnesota Wild, spoke with the media about the season, the playoffs, and his plans for the future of the Wild.

Overall, Fletcher put a positive spin on the season, which many have labeled as a disappointment despite a franchise best 106-point season with a 49-25-8 record. Fletcher didn’t shy away from his team’s 1-4 playoff appearance either, saying it was, "Very disappointing to lose after a tremendous regular season".

With a team that peaked high, but early, and then failed to press through the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, many comparisons are being made between Chicago and Minnesota, especially with the Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman apparently ready to enact some sweeping changes to his club. 

When asked if Fletcher was considering drastic changes, he didn’t even hesitate: “Wholesale changes? Absolutely not”.

The GM did admit that “there's going to be changes with the salary cap and expansion”, issues largely out of his control.

Head Coach Bruce Boudreau also spoke to the media after his first season with Minnesota, and he’s on board with Fletcher’s plans for the team: "I would anticipate, in my mind anyway, that we’ll be a better team than this next year”.

Fletcher did admit to some issues the Wild need to address, including a need for more gritty players, a bit more offense from the blueline, and a "critical" need for quality backup goaltending.

Fletcher and Boudreau aren’t phased by their early exit from the Playoffs, they still have confidence that the Wild’s core players are getting better, the view that some might disagree with after a difficult second half of the season for Minnesota.

The Wild sit approximately $346,297 under this season’s salary cap, with $72.7-million spent, according to capfriendly.com. The Wild have a lot of players who need new contracts for next season, including UFA’s Martin Hanzal and Ryan White, as well as some RFA’s who’ll be looking for a bit of raise, including Mikael Grandlund and Nino Niederreiter.

What toll the expansion draft and salary cap limit takes on the Wild remains to be seen, but Fletcher's plan is to keep as much of his team together as possible for next season.