Owner Craig Leipold announced Monday that Chuck Fletcher, the team’s general manager for nine seasons, will not be returning.

The Wild fell in the first round of the playoffs for the third year in a row and lost the best-of-7 series in five games for the second consecutive season earlier this month, getting shut out in their final two games against the Winnipeg Jets.

In a statement, Leipold thanked Fletcher, whose teams reached 100 points in three of the past four seasons, for making “substantial contributions to our franchise over the past nine years,” but added, “I feel it is time for a new approach aimed at delivering the Stanley Cup to the deserving fans of the State of Hockey.”

Leipold said assistant GM Brent Flahr will serve as acting general manager while the team looks for a replacement. Flahr is considered one of many candidates to take over for Fletcher.

Minnesota finished third in the Central Division this season and second in 2016-17, but has lost 16 of its most recent 20 playoff games. It had made the playoffs for six seasons in a row.

Injuries to Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, Nino Nieterreiter, Charlie Coyle, Jared Spurgeon and others added to the team’s degree of difficulty this season, and Suter and Parise were both sidelined at the finish.

Because of the likely retirement of 41-year-old winger Matt Cullen and the team’s close proximity to the NHL’s salary cap, more changes are likely for the Wild via trades and free agency during the summer.

Expect Leipold to move quickly to name a new GM and begin the process of restructuring the Wild lineup.

The post Fletcher out as Wild GM appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Nate Prosser skates up the ice during Minnesota’s 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
(MHM Photo/Jordan Doffing).

For a handful of players on the Minnesota Wild roster, the lyrics “I was born a child of the strong and wild,” from their anthem could not be more appropriate as they hail from the great state of hockey. Nate Prosser is one of those players and as Hockey Day in Minnesota approaches he couldn’t be a better choice to feature following the Wild’s 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The win came in front of a sold out arena of 18,037 home team fans and included Prosser’s first game-winning goal of his career, coming at 16:45 of the 2nd period, assisted by Jason Pominville. Prosser honed the skills that would lead him to the NHL – and that 2nd period goal – on the site of this weekend’s coming Hockey Day activities, “The Pit,” as it is lovingly referred to, in Elk River, MN.

Sit back and enjoy this Q&A with Nate Prosser on growing up Minnesota, High School Hockey and what being truly blessed means to him.

Q: What do you think was the best part of growing up in Minnesota as far as hockey is concerned?

A: I think the best part about growing up here for hockey is the availability of ice. “The Pit” in general is a great spot. Growing up, when we wanted to play outdoor hockey we could go there and and it was perfect. There are lights and it’s down out of the wind, it literally sits in a pit so it was kind of alike a dream setting for kids with the warming house and everything right there.

Q: Was there anything really special about Elk River specifically for you?

A: The biggest thing for me growing up in Elk River was being able to watch Paul Martin and my brother who was three years older than me. I was able to grow up watching those great players and we actually won a state tournament when I was a bantam. There have been some great teams down through there in the past ten to twenty years and I think it’s just a perfect spot to have Hockey Day with the teams that we’ve been having and the success that we’ve been having with hockey…it’s such a hockey city. We get such good fans there. The student section is down on the glass on the opposing end and the guys really got us into it. It’s just a fun city to play in.

Q: Do you have a favorite hockey memory?

A: The state tournament my sophomore year was a lot of fun at the Xcel playing Bloomington that first game and all of the road trips me and my dad and sometimes my brother would take up to Grand Rapids or Duluth or Fargo…places like that. We’d pack up the minivan and head up and play penny poker on the way up and do goofy stuff. My first high school hockey game was an experience I’ll always remember because I grew up watching and idolizing my Paul Martin when he was in high school who was such a good player and I always wanted to play for my high school team. My sophomore year our first game was against Edina and I just remember stepping on the ice that first time and it was a dream come true.

Q: Coming full circle…does it make it more special that you play in the NHL here as opposed to if you played at another NHL venue?

A: Yeah for sure. I definitely have to take a step back a lot of the time and pinch myself. I know I’m truly blessed with where I’m at and all of my family and friends are still in the local area here and I’m truly thankful to be a part of this organization. When I graduated from college I was so happy to be heading to the Xcel and being able to play in front of my friends and family…the sense of pride I had to be playing for the hometown team…words can’t even describe it.

Q: Do you think having your friends and family here makes it easier or harder to play?

A: Obviously there are pros and cons with everything, in every situation, but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons in this situation. I’m  able to be here and be close to my family and I’m able to raise my family here. My wife is pregnant with our second child and we’re getting a big family going down here and I think it’s great to be here in Minnesota.

Q: Any plans to check out the State High School hockey tournament this year?

A: Yeah! Oh yeah!

Q: Why do you think that tournament is so popular?

A: This state just loves their high school hockey! It’s pretty incredible. I remember playing up at sectionals at the DECC in Duluth and that place would be packed full and then you come play in St. Paul and it’s packed full as well. People just love coming to watch their high school hockey and when the top eight teams get into one building, especially at the Xcel because it’s a great venue for it, everyone comes down and makes a weekend of it and just makes it a great time. I also always go to the final five because it’s just incredible as well.

Following Prosser’s big night we couldn’t help but ask him to reiterate how special it was to play in front of his friends and family. He responded with a big smile, “It’s a dream come true playing here in front of my family and friends at the Xcel. Having them here by my side and supporting me after every game is huge.”

Nate Prosser during Minnesota’s 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Photo Credit ~ Jordan Doffing.

Head coach Mike Yeo also weighed in on Prosser following the game saying, “He’s an unbelievable professional, he’s an unbelievable team guy.” He continued, “He does little things right and obviously we’re incredibly happy for him to score that goal tonight but even if he didn’t score that goal he’s going to go out and give you a great chance because of the way he plays, the way he defends and manages the puck well and he competes hard every night.”

There is no doubt Minnesotans everywhere echo Coach Yeo’s sentiments on Prosser and perhaps even smile a bit knowing the defenseman is a living representation of the spirit of hockey being instilled in kids all across the state of Minnesota.

For more information on Hockey Day in Minnesota CLICK HERE! Be sure to follow @MNhockeyMag on Twitter for all of our latest articles, updates and events as well as the author of this article @AmySnow17!

The post From “The Pit” to “The X” ~ Minnesota’s Nate Prosser appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Niklas Backstrom, Clayton Stoner and the Wild are unbeaten in 2014.
(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images)

Last night at the Xcel Energy Center I was on the losing end of a winning game. Early on in the first period my beloved iPhone, a tool that allows me to record post game interviews, check quick stats and of course keep contact with the world, decided it didn’t want to work anymore. On any day that wasn’t a game day I probably wouldn’t have been so bothered by it, but there I was in the press box without a key piece of my life.

As the Wild scored goals and chalked up their first win in seven I Googled how to get my touch screen to start responding again. First I had to try to hard restart it, no luck. Next I had to erase it and perform a factory reset. I went through this process a solid five or six times, occasionally contemplating the idea of deep-sixing the handset and letting it fly off the press box level to its demise, before finally conceding defeat and admitting I was powerless to help my phone.

As my iPhone saga unfolded a few members of the press noticed my obvious frustration and came to my rescue with recorded audios I could use as well as calming words meant to refocus and get me back on my game. These key words and phrases were running through my head: restart, refocus, back on my game, back to basics. I glanced behind me at the Minnesota Wild players who were watching their team from the press box and then looked back down towards the ice … and it was at that moment that I had a revelation.

As the Wild skidded six games before finally winning last night against the Buffalo Sabres we had observed them attempting to fix their broken game night after night by resetting, attempting to get back to basics and use the system and structure that is meant to be the backbone of the squad. Much like me with my iPhone, as they tried to reset back to their baseline operating system and found themselves still facing failure, they grew more and more frustrated and agitated until there was little semblance left of team cohesion.

They came under pressure from fans, themselves, the coaching staff and whoever else could throw out an opinion but no amount of talking, or not talking was going to get them out of the endless cycle of reset, fail. They had to accept they were powerless and start building up from the bottom, which is what appears to be happening now.

The dressing room became increasingly tense with players struggling to explain what was going on. How do you really answer a question with no real answers anyway? Coach Mike Yeo also found himself facing tough questions and the speculation that continued losses may result in his dismissal. If that isn’t a recipe for disaster I’m not really sure what is. With last night’s win came a few small laughs and even a joke out of Clayton Stoner that the team is now undefeated for the new year although a cloud of caution still hung over the press conferences and interviews deep in the belly of the ‘X’ following the contest.

I write this as a simple reminder that sometimes there aren’t any easy fixes or answers and that even when the solution seems simple, the answer is not always as straightforward as it first appears. I believed I could fix my iPhone by getting it back to basics, as I’m sure the Wild believed they could get their team back on track by prescribing to their system. The thing is though, with so many moving parts, like in my phone, a team is only able to control so much before they have to take a deep breath and wait for things to start clicking again.

My iPhone ultimately took some professional help to get back online and even as I type this I’m still not sure whether or not it’s going to come off of life support anytime soon. I’ll go so far as to say the Wild aren’t quite out of the woods just yet either but they are slowly showing signs of intermittent life, something that should make all Wild fans breathe a little easier for the time being.

As we move through the next few games beginning with the Capitals and Kings – two teams known for being ruthless when they want to be – remember that any frustration you’re feeling is probably being felt ten-fold on the bench and while their performance may not be without error or even pretty, it will be a genuine effort being put forth by a team that truly cares about its fans and the state of Wild hockey.

*You can follow us on Twitter @MNHockeyMag! You can also follow the author of this article @AmySnow17!

The post A Wild Reset appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.