It has been just over three weeks since Wild owner, Craig Leipold relieved Chuck Fletcher of his General Manager duties with the club, and ni replacement has been named

It does appear that the search has been narrowed to two candidates by all accounts and rumors, but nothing of course is certain. Paul Fenton the believed front runner along with New Jersey Devils assistant GM, Tom Fitzgerald are thought to be still under consideration. It is believed that both will have second interviews this week or possibly already have.

Either way Leipold is taking his time with the vetting process, which is not a bad thing at all. This is a monumental decision that will shape the franchise moving forward.

To the impatient fans I say better to have an owner that is doing his guest diligence to insure that the right candidate is brought in. This decision has everything to do with how the organization moves forward not only in the short term but more importantly how they progress moving forward.

There are a lot of question Mark's with the Wild as they stand today. The draft is obviously first on the minds of most, but there are other pressing issues and concerns as well. There are assets that can be used to bring back key players that the current team is lacking. Free agency is fast approaching and with a couple of key Wild contributors, Dumba and Zucker needing new contracts.

The issue of the Parise and Suter contracts is going to be a hot topic as long as they are on the books. But with both players finishing the season on the shelf question marks will surround both players this offseason. Especially Suter, who has never experienced a significant injury, and this one in particular is a tricky one, keeping him from putting weight on his ankle for four months.

We all know Suter is a beast, and he works tremendously hard, but this will be his biggest test to date in terms ofconditioning and getting himself back into playing shape. I have no doubt that Suter will do everything that he needs to do in order to return to form, but that does not discount the fact that he will not have his usual offseason to prepare for the new campaign. We have seen players have lingering effects even after they are medically cleared to compete.

There will be a lot of immediate work for the new GM, but there always is. The most important thing though, is for Craig Leipold to make the right hire in order to accomplish what we all want to see here in the State of Hockey.

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