WildHBcommunity: Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher’s Finest Moves Have Come on Draft Day
In getting to know Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher over his past five seasons on the job, a couple things have become staples of his ideology as the top personnel decision maker. The first being that any move he makes gets filtered through a short term and long term view to generate a consensus of how it makes the team better now and how it affects the 3 & 5 year plans for the roster.
The second thing we have learned about Fletcher is that draft weekend he is truly in his element posturing and negotiating with his fellow top executives while assistant general manager Brent Flahr focusing on the amateur scouting portion of the draft. Fletcher has deftly maneuvered and leveraged assets to maximize value in each of his previous five drafts. This year’s NHL Draft should be no different as I think it is very possible “Trader Chuck… will be looking to set in motion the first couple chess moves in what is sure to be a compelling offseason for the Wild.
The third and most important thing about Fletcher is that he has surely laid out a sequence of moves even before his upcoming June 6th organizational meetings that could play out at draft. Fletcher’s decision during draft weekend will be just the beginning of how he moves to improve and shape the 2014-15 roster.
Draft Day Trades Completed by Fletcher 2009-2013
In 2009 Fletcher entered the NHL draft looking to restock a bare cupboard of organizational prospects after the previous regime failed to develop most of the young players they drafted and often mortgaged picks via trade for veterans to plug into Coach Jacques Lemaire’s system. Fletcher was able to add a 3rd and 7th round pick in a trade with the New York Islanders that had the Wild moving back 4 spots from #12 to #16 overall in the first round.
Just a quick look at the names of the actual players selected with the picks involved in this trade gives a glimpse into how valuable it has been to the Wild. Fletcher flipped Nick Leddy in another trade on a Cam Barker leap of faith that burned him but he learned a valuable lesson from it I believe. Matt Hackett was a major piece in the Jason Pominville trade and last but certainly not least Erik Haula has emerged as a genius moment for Fletcher & Flahr this season with his arrival to the NHL.
In the other draft day swap of 2009 Fletcher acquired Kyle Brodziak’s rights and 6th round pick for a 4th round and 5th round pick in the same draft. Already having selected Hackett in the third round, they added another netminder Darcy Kuemper. Brodziak has been for the most part a strong contributor since coming to the Wild for such a minimal return in trade. Kuemper profiles in my opinion as the Wild’s goaltender of the future.
Minnesota Wild acquire Date New York Islanders acquire 2009 1st round pick (#16-Nick Leddy) 2009 3rd round pick (#77-Matt Hackett) 2009 7th round pick (#181-Erik Haula) June 26, 2009 2009 1st round pick (#12-Calvin de Haan)
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Edmonton Oilers acquire 2009 6th round pick (#160-Darcy Kuemper) rights to Kyle Brodziak June 27, 2009 2009 4th round pick (#99-Kyle Bigos) 2009 5th round pick (#132-Olivier Roy)
In 2010 Fletcher had already selected Mikael Granlund at #9, Brett Bulmer at #39, and Johan Larsson at #56 when he swung a deal to move back into the bottom of the 2nd round to take a chance on a kid from the west coast. Zucker a kid born in California was a non-traditional NHL prospect having grown up playing roller hockey in Nevada. Zucker was able to capture the attention of Wild fans with his aggressive offensive play and exciting skating ability while playing his college hockey in the WCHA at the University of Denver. The hype and fan support for Zucker has made his handling by the organization a compelling storyline in each of his first two season as a professional.
Now looking back the 2010 NHL draft has been the most important in the Fletcher era as they obviously held very high opinions of multiple players selected in the first round of this draft. Fletcher included Larsson in the Pominville trade despite holding him in high regard, his inclusion along with Hackett can now be directly attributed to the development and potential of Kuemper & Haula.
Minnesota Wild acquire Date Florida Panthers acquire 2010 2nd round pick (#59-Jason Zucker) June 26, 2010 2010 3rd round pick (#69-Joe Basaraba) 2010 4th round pick (#99-Joonas Donskoi)
In 2011 the Minnesota Wild hosted the NHL Draft at the Xcel Energy Center where Fletcher swung a huge deal trading soon to be unrestricted free agent defensemen Brent Burns and 2nd round pick in 2012 to San Jose for a package of young forwards (Devin Setogucci and Charlie Coyle) and the 28th overall pick with which he selected Zack Phillips. Burns was a fan favorite with Wild fan base but his inability to stay healthy and strong likelihood of departing in free agency propelled this trade. Making a big splash drew cheers from the home crowd when this trade was announced.
Later it was learned the groundwork for another swap between the clubs had been laid draft night but required the teams to wait until July to announce the swap of Martin Havlat to the Sharks for Dany Heatley.
This pair of deals made by Fletcher helped give the future of Wild hockey a jump start in the right direction and we can now truly appreciate the impact. Havlat signed a 6 years $30 million dollar and was Fletcher’s first major free agent signing. Havlat was highly criticized for being simply a playmaker type rather than replacing the scoring lost when Marian Gaborik left via free agency.
Shipping Heatley for Havlat allowed Fletcher to add a proven scorer in addition to avoiding what was sure to be an ugly situation moving forward. Heatley also was integral in the recruiting efforts of Parise & Suter later on. Heatley has been an easy target for Wild fans to vent about given his drop of in production and ability BUT the reality is he has more productive than Havlat since the deal.
I don’t think I have to say much about Coyle because this kid is a stud now and his content of character and work ethic are unbelievable. Coyle for Burns straight up is almost worth it given how bright the future looks for the young Wild power forward. Don’t get me wrong Burns was my favorite Wild player during his time here and I think he is a very good player and even better person but I love this trade by Fletcher.
The down side of this trade has been that Setogucci and Phillips not fulfilling their potential yet with the Wild. Setogucci just never produced as goal scorer here and was moved for a 2014 2nd round pick to the Winnipeg Jets in July of 2013. Phillips has been slow to develop at the AHL level despite teaming with Coyle for an extremely productive season in the QMHL with Saint John’s. Phillips still may crack the NHL lineup as he has the size and playmaking ability teams seek but his skating has held him back so this upcoming Iowa Wild season will be make it or break for him.
San Jose Sharks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire Brent Burns 2012 2nd round pick June 24, 2011 Charlie Coyle Devin Setoguchi 2011 1st round pick (#28-Zack Phillips)
San Jose Sharks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire Martin Havlat July 3, 2011 Dany Heatley
Just to make sure nobody had forgotten whose house the 2011 NHL Draft was taking place in, Fletcher swung a deal to select Mario Lucia the son of Minnesota Gophers Hockey head coach Don Lucia. In acquiring the highly touted power forward with such prominent ties to the local hockey community it just reinforced how different Fletcher and his front office were from the previous regime. The Lucia selection was more than just a public relations move as he is a big bodied winger that can score goals and looks to have a bright future. Last but certainly not least Fletcher and Flahr used their own 10th overall pick in the 2011 draft to select a smooth skating intelligent defensemen out of Sweden that at the time nobody knew much about named Jonas Brodin.
Vancouver Canucks acquire Date Minnesota Wild acquire 2011 3rd round pick (#70-David Honzik) 2011 4th round pick (#100-Joseph Labate) June 25, 2011 2011 2nd round pick (#60-Mario Lucia)
During the 2013 NHL Draft Fletcher swung another deal with the Islanders this time sending fan favorite high energy Cal Clutterbuck and a 2013 3rd round pick for a former 1st round pick 5th overall in the 2010 draft Nino Niederreiter. I am not sure much elaboration on this trade is required as the Wild fan base has fallen in love with “KnightRider… or “El Nino… in just one season with the team. I will say that since his arrival Niederreiter has proven to be humble and hard working. What an impressive first year with the Wild for the 21 year old Swiss winger the sky is the limit with this kid as well.
2013 3rd round pick Cal Clutterbuck June 30, 2013 Nino Niederreiter
Minnesota Wild Draft Picks by Fletcher 2009-2013
2009 1 16 Nick Leddy D 2009 3 77 Matt Hackett G 2009 4 103 Kris Foucault LW 2009 4 116 Alexander Fallstrom RW 2009 6 161 Darcy Kuemper G 2009 6 163 Jere Sallinen W 2009 7 182 Erik Haula LW 2009 7 193 Anthony Hamburg C 2010 1 9 Mikael Granlund C 2010 2 39 Brett Bulmer LW 2010 2 56 Johan Larsson C 2010 2 59 Jason Zucker F 2010 6 159 Johan Gustafsson G 2010 7 189 Dylen McKinlay RW 2011 1 10 Jonas Brodin D 2011 1 28 Zack Phillips C 2011 2 60 Mario Lucia LW 2011 5 131 Nick Seeler D 2011 6 161 Stephen Michalek G 2011 7 191 Tyler Graovac C 2012 1 7 Mathew Dumba D 2012 2 46 Raphael Bussieres LW 2012 3 68 John Draeger D 2012 4 98 Adam Gilmour C 2012 5 128 Daniel Gunnarsson D 2012 6 158 Christopher Bertschy C 2012 7 188 Louis Nanne LW 2013 2 46 Gustav Olofsson D 2013 3 81 Kurtis Gabriel RW 2013 4 107 Dylan Labbe D 2013 5 137 Carson Soucy D 2013 6 167 Avery Peterson C 2013 7 197 Nolan DeJong D 2013 7 200 Alexandre Belanger G
Just My Take, Tony Dean Follow Me on Twitter @TonyDeanTHW Also Like the WildHBcommunity of FaceBook here: WildHBCommunity on FaceBook