Welcome to the State of Hockey Paul Fenton, the third General Manager in Minnesota Wild history.

As we heard Craig Leipold say today that Fenton was the first choice from day one, and as the interview process took place his position as the leading candidate only solidified.

Fenton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience after working within the Nashville Predators front office for 20 years, with the last 12 as assistant GM. Fenton served as the GM of the Predators AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals and knows the value of having a quality minor league operation and the role that they play in the growth and overall success of the NHL team.

We have heard and known all along that the decision to move away from Chuck Fletcher and to bring in a new GM was in Craig Leipold's words "to have a new set of eyes on the organization."

Fenton is that guy and his fresh set of eyes will be what shapes the Minnesota Wild as they move forward on their quest to bring the State of Hockey the Stanley Cup.

We heard Fenton talk a little bit about Wild head coach, Bruce Boudreau, and how he plans to work together with him to make sure that they are on the same page.

The head coach and coaching staff are a bit of a tricky subject with a new GM and to say that Fenton and Boudreau will work well together is far too premature to speculate.

It is typical for a new GM to want his own head coach and staff for that matter. So we will have to wait and see just how the next month plays out as Fenton and company are in crash course mode as they prepare for the NHL draft.

Fenton has his work cut out for himself here in Minnesota, but his experience in Nashville, where the team was able to construct "hockey trades" working within the cap structure, which we know is quite the challenge.

"Hockey trades" are needed with the Wild if they intend on competing with this current core of players, without a rebuild. Free agency is also a prime avenue but much like the trade deadline, finding the right players to fit the mold of what the team is working to accomplish needs to take precedence with any free agent signing.

One of the things that Fenton referenced in today's press conference was the fact that Craig Leipold has given the Wild the opportunity to be a cap team, providing the resources to make the team competitive.

Fenton now is in charge of managing that cap and working the system to navigate the Wild out of the current cap mess and into a position where they can actually move forward to make moves that will strengthen the team, not just today but as they move forward.

A new set of eyes in place, but for now the same old roster is too. Fenton has a daunting task if he is going to get this team back into the playoffs next season. The Central Division is the strongest division in the league and Winnipeg, Nashville, and Colorado are all better teams than are the Wild, while St. Louis, Dallas, and Chicago still have plenty in the tank as well.

In other Wild news it was learned that Charlie Coyle underwent surgery on both wrists yesterday. The procedure was to repair tendons and he is expected to make a full recovery by the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

Coyle's injury dates back to January and explains a lot of why his numbers were way down as his stickhandling and shooting were greatly affected by the injuries to his wrists.

Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17

Join the Discussion: » 14 Comments » Post New Comment

» Walker Up, Goligoski On LTIR

» Wild Look To Tighten Up The D Zone

» New Season Of Hope For Wild

» Kirill Gets The "A"

» Zuccarello Extended For 2 Years