Kraken Advisor’s Mild Results With Wild
New Seattle Kraken senior advisor Chuck Fletcher has taken his share of swings for the fences.
THN’s Ken Campbell is among the analysts who believe Fletcher as Minnesota Wild GM has been unfairly criticized for the twin 13-year, $98 million contracts handed out to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in 2012.
“No Cups, no sustainable success and very little improvement to show for nine years of Parise and Suter. A couple of big-time duds, right? Dead wrong. While the results might not have been there, neither Parise nor Suter shortchanged the Wild one penny when it came to effort, determination and selflessness.”
Still, the Wild ended up buying out the last four years of both contracts. As Campbell conceded, “The Wild enjoyed three 100-point seasons during Parise’s and Suter’s tenures, but never finished higher than second in their division and won only two playoff rounds.”
Little Love, Brotherly Or Otherwise, For Fletcher In Philly
After being named Flyers general manager in Dec., 2018, NBC Sports Philadelphia labeled Fletcher “aggressive and progressive. He understands the grand scheme. He can play the short game while still seeing the long view. He gets the risk and reward to his decision-making.”
Flexibility or inconsistency? Fletcher, as GM in 2019: “I’m not trading Claude Giroux, that’s for sure. I would never say never to almost anybody besides Giroux.”
Fletcher traded team captain Giroux in March, 2022.
“Moves didn’t really pay off,” AP said of Fletcher’s tenure. “His trade for defenseman Ryan Ellis and the free-agent signing of forward Cam Atkinson yielded nothing because of injuries, and the same happened with rich contract extensions to Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier.”
More examples of overpays in Philly included Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Tony DeAngelo. All while Shayne Gostisbehere was made a salary-cap trade casualty.
Fletcher was let go in March, 2023, as reported by AP. “A series of bad contracts, unfortunate injuries, sagging attendance and one of the worst records in the NHL ultimately doomed Fletcher.”
With 20-20 hindsight, Flyers team site Broad Street Buzz isn’t a fan of the Kraken hire. “Fletcher failed to make any impact during major deadlines.”
Earlier Kraken:
— How Long Until The Kraken Invite “Firkus Circus” To Perform
Earlier Canucks:
— Canucks PR Poisons Writers Association
VIDEO: Day 1 of Seattle Kraken (on-ice) training camp. What you HAVE to know …
