NHL: Wild have their eye on Fedotenko, Scuderi
Defenseman Rob Scuderi will test free agency tomorrow afternoon, and while Pittsburgh remains in talks Ruslan Fedotenko, the Minnesota Wild have both players at the top of their radar. Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher tried to acquire the rights for Fedotenko prior to the draft but Pittsburgh had no interest in moving Fedotenko’s rights. When the clock strikes noon on Wednesday, Fletcher will be contacting Stephen Barlett and Allan Walsh within minutes. Fedotenko is seeking a
Fletcher/Shero talking Trade?
Could the Minnesota Wild and the Pittsburgh Penguins strike a deal this weekend? The two sides have held talks over the past 24 hours regarding,
Penguins transition game clicking on all cylinders
The Penguins have scored 13 goals in their last two games, the Hurricanes have no answers for the Penguins transition game as the Penguins have recorded 40+ shots in consecutive games and the Hurricanes have no answers for Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. It’s a recipe for disaster against an offensive team like the Penguins whose transition game fuels their offensive attack. The way the Hurricanes are being overmatched is similar to how the Penguins were overmatched in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings last spring At times the Canes have played the Penguins even, but the just like the Wings did, the better team pulls away late in games. The Latest
Wild to hire Penguins assistant GM Chuck Fletcher
Source: Fletcher agrees to five year deal The Minnesota Wild have agreed to terms with Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Chuck Fletcher to replace Doug Risebrough as Executive Vice President and General Manager. Sources close to the situation tell Inside Pittsburgh Sports that Fletcher has agreed to a five year deal worth $750,000 per season. Fletcher, 41, has 16 years of experience with Florida, Anaheim and Pittsburgh, and has played a big role in the Penguins success over the past two seasons. While in Pittsburgh, Fletcher oversaw the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins minor-league club and was involved in contract negotiations, scouting and various day-to-day club operations. The Wild who have struggled to lure and keep top tier free agents, wanted to change
Lovejoy emerging as one of the Penguins top 5 prospects
The Carolina Hurricanes believe Matt Cooke’s knee-to-knee hit on Eric Cole in the third period of Game 1 should be reviewed by the league. All indications are the the league has no interest in dishing out a fine or suspension to Cooke. If the NHL were to suspend or fine Matt Cooke, it would look like they were giving star treatment to Alexander Ovechkin for his knee-to-knee hit on Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Sergei Gonchar played just under 22 minutes in game 1 and his upper right leg contusion is improving everyday. Pittsburgh held an optional practice Tuesday morning and will go through a full squad practice Wednesday morning. There’s some speculation that a few teams could target defenseman Ben Lovejoy
NHL: Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher emerges as Top Candidate for the Wild’s GM position
Afternoon Buzz The Penguins may be looking for a new assistant general manager this off-season as current Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher went through his second interview with the Minnesota Wild last Thursday and has emerged as the top candidate to replace Doug Risebrough who was fired last month. Fletcher, 41, has over 16 years of experience in the National Hockey League and is highly regarded around NHL circles. He has played a vital part in the Penguins success over the past two seasons. With a strong emphasis on moving away from the Jacques Lemaire, Doug Risebrough era of “trap hockey”, Fletcher is intriguing to Wild owner Craig Leopold as he will look to build a team that will play an
NHL: Ex Penguins GM Craig Patrick interested in Minnesota
Former Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Craig Patrick, the architect of two Stanley Cups in the early 1990’s has contacted the Minnesota Wild to express his interest in the Wild’s GM job, a league source tells Inside Pittsburgh Sports. Patrick, the Penguins general manager from 1989-2006 has only interviewed for two GM jobs since being let go from the Penguins in the spring of 2006. Patrick has not ruled out getting back into the game in the role of an advisor or assistant GM but Patrick did decline an offer from the Tampa Bay Lightning this past summer, to work as an advisor under current GM Brian Lawton As for Penguins assistant GM Chuck Fletcher, sources tell Inside Pittsburgh Sports Fletcher
NHL: Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher is of interest to the Minnesota Wild
Sources with the Penguins have been speculating for the past week that Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher would draw considerable interest from the Minnesota Wild, due to Penguins General Manager Ray Shero working for current Wild owner Craig Leopold when Leopold was the owner of the Nashville Predators. While there have been no talks between the Wild and Fletcher to this point, as the Wild are in the beginning stages of their hiring process, I spoke briefly to Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune today, who told me the Wild are interested Fletcher. Plenty of names including Fletcher are already getting mentioned as potential candidates. Russo reported last week that former Vancouver and Toronto GM Pat Quinn, former Columbus GM Doug MacLean,