Chuck Fletcher it is...

[radoran]

25 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Hakstol said he reached out to him. Hope that helps.

 

That, too, is in no way mutually exclusive.

 

And I didn't and don't dispute.

 

Hope that helps.

[OccamsRazor]

2 minutes ago, radoran said:

 

That, too, is in no way mutually exclusive.

 

And I didn't and don't dispute.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Mkay

[Icechipper]

You automatically got tougher with Rick Wilson. Fletcher isn't averse to parking a pugilist on the end of the bench....  

[ruxpin]

2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

How many people hire guys who they are not familiar with and think they can come in and help???

 

So it only work if he has no clue who the guys is and never heard of him...i'm just not following it...i could see if he was an X Flyer but Hak job hangs in the balance with this coaching call...hell i know if it was me in the trench with a guy i would want it to be someone i like and trust can help.

I didn't see what you were referring to. Wilson?  Yeah, I completely agree. 

 

I'm not a huge fan, but on this one I'm more wait and see. If Hak is comfortable and feels they can sync, I'm all for it. 

[OccamsRazor]

8 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

 

I'm not a huge fan, but on this one I'm more wait and see

 

I am a wait and see on everything honestly.

 

You seen i wasn't an advocate of this before it all went down.

 

But at this point i have no choice.

 

I was shocked that Ron was canned first till reading the stories of what was going on then now if true it looks like i was a smart move.

 

I guess i have to see where this leads...i don't know how good it could be we all have mentioned how bad it could be...i am just going to ride it out and see what happens.

 

I have no expectations as of this moment.

 

Maybe it turns around and end up being a good move maybe it's a move that ruins everything they have built.

[vis]

2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

How many people hire guys who they are not familiar with and think they can come in and help???

 

So it only work if he has no clue who the guys is and never heard of him...i'm just not following it...i could see if he was an X Flyer but Hak job hangs in the balance with this coaching call...hell i know if it was me in the trench with a guy i would want it to be someone i like and trust can help.

My comment was a poke at the folks who say Chuck Fletcher was a "good ol' boy" hiring citing ties to Clarke in 1992.

[OccamsRazor]

2 minutes ago, vis said:

My comment was a poke at the folks who say Chuck Fletcher was a "good ol' boy" hiring citing ties to Clarke in 1992.

 

Ok. 

 

I just hope this guy doesn't make a bunch of WTF trades trying to fix this club.

[vis]

16 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Ok. 

 

I just hope this guy doesn't make a bunch of WTF trades trying to fix this club.

Agree with that!  (Btw, not saying you were one of the folks saying that.)

[vis]

24 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

I guess i have to see where this leads...i don't know how good it could be we all have mentioned how bad it could be...i am just going to ride it out and see what happens.

 

I have no expectations as of this moment.

 

Maybe it turns around and end up being a good move maybe it's a move that ruins everything they have built.

That's where I am at the moment.

 

Based on all that has come out (if it's to be believed), I understand why Hextall was let go and I don't have an issue with it.

 

I have reservations about Fletcher, but I am not sure that failure in Minnesota means failure here.  There are probably a lot of factors that led to his inability to get that team over the hump.  But, he seems like a smart guy and hopefully smart enough to learn from past mistakes.  I'll also say this: most GMs don't operate in a vacuum.  They take input and advice from others.  So, maybe he's not entirely to blame for the failures in Minnesota.  Of course, hear bears ultimate responsibility given his position.

 

Now, as I said above, most GMs don't operate in a vacuum.  That means Fletcher will have Holmgren and Scott in his ear.  That does worry me quite a bit.

 

Another thought: if they brought in Zito or another hot name, who's to say what that guy might do?  There's no guarantee there, either.  Especially if Homer and Scott want to have a greater say in things.

 

I really don't know what's going to happen here.  I'm just willing to let it unfold.  But if I am being honest, I am more pessimistic than optimistic about this regime.  That's not necessarily because of Fletcher.  It's more because I envision Holmgren and Scott becoming more involved.  Hextall was a good foil for them, although to a fault.  Fletcher doesn't have that quality. 

 

I guess I have traded impatience/frustration for uncertainty/pessimism.  

[OccamsRazor]

11 minutes ago, vis said:

 

I guess I have traded impatience/frustration for uncertainty/pessimism.

 

 

That is fair i think everyone has the right to feel whatever way they feel right especially without more to go on.

[ruxpin]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

I am a wait and see on everything honestly.

 

You seen i wasn't an advocate of this before it all went down.

 

But at this point i have no choice.

 

I was shocked that Ron was canned first till reading the stories of what was going on then now if true it looks like i was a smart move.

 

I guess i have to see where this leads...i don't know how good it could be we all have mentioned how bad it could be...i am just going to ride it out and see what happens.

 

I have no expectations as of this moment.

 

Maybe it turns around and end up being a good move maybe it's a move that ruins everything they have built.

The bolded. Yeah, truer words never spoken (typed?). 

 

I mean, the whole post is certainly a healthier mindset than mine.  And I know you're not rah rah about it. Because yeah, we were both against this before it happened. But it is what it is. 

 

Clearly, I'm not bullish about it. 

[OccamsRazor]

1 minute ago, ruxpin said:

Clearly, I'm not bullish about it. 

 

Well i hope they give you a reason to come around.......or i may be joining you in running them all out of town.

[rottenrefs]

22 hours ago, ruxpin said:

 

@OccamsRazor

You know who hasn't changed or learned?  The guy who hired him.   When you add Chucky's track record to working for a guy who just fired the last GM for not putting enough butts in seats.

One thing Fletcher is good at is filling an arena. He's good at marketing. I'll also say during his time here there were a lot of unhappy season ticket holders who bailed, but he filled them.

[rottenrefs]

6 hours ago, flyersfan35 said:

 

i really think sometimes things really have to go your way in terms of matchups, you didnt matchup well against the blackhawks, i dont think it's about how you draft, what you trade for, if you dont get your matchups, you are just not going to win. the caps last year, no one else expected the caps to win the cup and it took them a long time to get to the finals and win it all. they never blew it up and they just kept trying and eventually they got their way and won it all.

 

the caps players even said it themselves, they didnt even know why or how they got there, they couldnt explain it. things just go your way. that's just how it is sometimes. you can build a team of stars like the lightning and still lose, with less talented team like vegas to go in the finals. i guess teams just get hot in the playoffs and it works out.

 

im guessing that it's the team that has the most playoff experienced players.

I'm not quite agreeing with this because through the years the Wild have swept the Blackhawks during the regular season (with fairly key players out with injuries) then face them in the playoffs and get smoked. The same could be said for just about every division rival the Wild have faced. Beat them handily throughout the year and even going into the playoffs, those same teams in press conferences defer to noting the Wild are a serious threat. But the puck drops and the wheels literally fall off.

 

Is it the players? The coaching? The GM?

 

Who the hell goes all season long, finds out how smoking hot Zucker - Staal - Granlund are then they hit the playoffs and Granlund is with Koivu on line 2 (putting in line 1 minutes) while Coyle or Nino take RW outside of Staal. Then they plug Greenway up on that line with Parise injured from Koivu's line, and create a Nino - Koivu - Granlund line... Wild fans the world over want to know who's creating these moves among lines? Is it Boudreau? One has to say Boudreau isn't that frikking stupid. Someone above him was calling those shots. It either had to be Fletcher or Leipold (the owner.) Who's decision is it to put a complete rookie on a teams top scoring line? Couldn't have been Boudreau pulling those strings. You look at his face behind the bench during the playoffs last year and he was not a happy camper (even before games began.) 

 

When Yeo was head coach it was worse, but numb to dumb hockey fans not knowing the difference were sold that this is something really good happening here... (long sigh.) Then you hear Fletcher say they put a call into Suter, who was injured and not making the trip with the team during the playoffs, and state they asked for his input on Winnipeg. What the hell? What are the coaches and scouts for?

 

Understandably I know the politics that can go on behind the scenes in hockey or whatever, but I've long thought the 'core players' on the Wild thatYeo, Bourdeau ir Fletcher always referred to... Ran the team more than they did/do. Winding down the end of the season last year, tons of Wild fans thought Boudreau would walk because he was tired (it sure looked it on his face) of the bs. It's all speculation, but any team in any sport can't be successful if players run the asylum. 

[sweetshot]

26 minutes ago, rottenrefs said:

I'm not quite agreeing with this because through the years the Wild have swept the Blackhawks during the regular season (with fairly key players out with injuries) then face them in the playoffs and get smoked. The same could be said for just about every division rival the Wild have faced. Beat them handily throughout the year and even going into the playoffs, those same teams in press conferences defer to noting the Wild are a serious threat. But the puck drops and the wheels literally fall off.

 

Is it the players? The coaching? The GM?

 

Who the hell goes all season long, finds out how smoking hot Zucker - Staal - Granlund are then they hit the playoffs and Granlund is with Koivu on line 2 (putting in line 1 minutes) while Coyle or Nino take RW outside of Staal. Then they plug Greenway up on that line with Parise injured from Koivu's line, and create a Nino - Koivu - Granlund line... Wild fans the world over want to know who's creating these moves among lines? Is it Boudreau? One has to say Boudreau isn't that frikking stupid. Someone above him was calling those shots. It either had to be Fletcher or Leipold (the owner.) Who's decision is it to put a complete rookie on a teams top scoring line? Couldn't have been Boudreau pulling those strings. You look at his face behind the bench during the playoffs last year and he was not a happy camper (even before games began.) 

 

When Yeo was head coach it was worse, but numb to dumb hockey fans not knowing the difference were sold that this is something really good happening here... (long sigh.) Then you hear Fletcher say they put a call into Suter, who was injured and not making the trip with the team during the playoffs, and state they asked for his input on Winnipeg. What the hell? What are the coaches and scouts for?

 

Understandably I know the politics that can go on behind the scenes in hockey or whatever, but I've long thought the 'core players' on the Wild thatYeo, Bourdeau ir Fletcher always referred to... Ran the team more than they did/do. Winding down the end of the season last year, tons of Wild fans thought Boudreau would walk because he was tired (it sure looked it on his face) of the bs. It's all speculation, but any team in any sport can't be successful if players run the asylum. 

BB has a poor playoff record with both Washington and Anahiem. 8 years in with 4 first round exits and 3 second round exits, one conference final exit.

Both teams consistently at or near the top of the regular season standings.(I think 2 or 3 seasons winning the Presidents trophy) 

Both teams had one ingredient that IMO you have to have to win the cup--at least one big-time star player--Ovechkin with Washington and Getzlaff with Anahiem.

He hasn't done well here either but to his defense the Wild lacks a big-time star--among other things.

[ruxpin]

With apologies to our Wild fan friends, I can honestly say I have never once considered the Wild a serious contender for anything.  Their fortunes in the playoffs never surprised me except maybe when they got out of the first round. I always thought a round against the Blues had a good prognosis, but that probably says more about what I think of the Blues. 

 

I wasn't and still am not Yeo fan, but I was pretty sure when they hired BB that they would never be a consideration in the playoffs. 

 

Many of us on here said as much.  They just always seem like "oh, and the Wild were there too." 

 

That's okay, though. There's many years recently that you can't even say that about the Flyers. 

Edited December 6, 2018 by ruxpin

[sweetshot]

2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Well i hope they give you a reason to come around.......or i may be joining you in running them all out of town.

OR--from an outsider looking in, I'll ask a question--didn't Holmgren prove that he learned a(some) lessons from his actions as GM in Philly by hiring a guy(Hextall) who had a philosophy much different than he had?

It may have been his plan when he decided to hire Hextall--ok we'll actually try to build this team thru the draft--much differently than the way I ran things when I was GM and see how it goes. And it went well up to now.

The main reason for firing Hextall was that Holmgren felt it was time to get things going some--maybe impatient--maybe not--and at some point figured out that Hextall wasn't going to alter his philosophy whatsoever and wasn't going to be the guy to "take the next step" which Holmgren thought was necessary to speed up the process(or simply to start the next step of what he thought should be included in the process of building a team).

Fletcher is a guy that will make things happen, but not to the point of gutting the franchise, because Holmgren won't let that happen because he realizes the team is in good shape talent and cap-wise and so far they have done the right things. He sees that now is the right time to inject some of his philosophy.

Don't know if that makes any sense or not--at any rate I think Holmgren is smart enough to realize he can't run this team into the same position they were in at the end of his time as GM. After all, he is a Minnesotan

[OccamsRazor]

2 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

OR--from an outsider looking in, I'll ask a question--didn't Holmgren prove that he learned a(some) lessons from his actions as GM in Philly by hiring a guy(Hextall) who had a philosophy much different than he had?

It may have been his plan when he decided to hire Hextall--ok we'll actually try to build this team thru the draft--much differently than the way I ran things when I was GM and see how it goes. And it went well up to now.

The main reason for firing Hextall was that Holmgren felt it was time to get things going some--maybe impatient--maybe not--and at some point figured out that Hextall wasn't going to alter his philosophy whatsoever and wasn't going to be the guy to "take the next step" which Holmgren thought was necessary to speed up the process(or simply to start the next step of what he thought should be included in the process of building a team).

Fletcher is a guy that will make things happen, but not to the point of gutting the franchise, because Holmgren won't let that happen because he realizes the team is in good shape talent and cap-wise and so far they have done the right things. He sees that now is the right time to inject some of his philosophy.

Don't know if that makes any sense or not--at any rate I think Holmgren is smart enough to realize he can't run this team into the same position they were in at the end of his time as GM. After all, he is a Minnesotan

 

Homer had actually started to change his philosophy the last couple of years before Hextall took over.

 

 

Starting in 2011 drafting Couturier and Cousins i think he realized then that he could have got some talent in the 2nd if he had that pick.

 

Then in 2012 he kind of missed a little on Laughton in the 1st but got Stolarz in the 2nd and Ghost in the 3rd.

 

Sam Morin and Hagg the following year but it was just time for him to step aside and let Hextall take over before he lost him to Vancouver.

 

But after watching team like the Avs, Canucks, Rangers and Isles kind of retool/rebuild kind of quickly the front office got impatient and wanted Hextall to speed up his 10 year rebuild and he refused...so yeah they sent him packing...and the turmoil in front office (if true) was the thing that maybe sped up their decision.

 

Fletcher is taking on a way better spot in Philly than he ever had in Minny one of the top farm systems in the NHL a solid NHL roster and over 9 million in cap space to work with. I will give him the benefit of the doubt he has learned a lot from past jobs. 

[rottenrefs]

1 hour ago, ruxpin said:

With apologies to our Wild fan friends, I can honestly say I have never once considered the Wild a serious contender for anything.  Their fortunes in the playoffs never surprised me except maybe when they got out of the first round. I always thought a round against the Blues had a good prognosis, but that probably says more about what I think of the Blues. 

 

I wasn't and still am not Yeo fan, but I was pretty sure when they hired BB that they would never be a consideration in the playoffs. 

 

Many of us on here said as much.  They just always seem like "oh, and the Wild were there too." 

 

That's okay, though. There's many years recently that you can't even say that about the Flyers. 

Most of us would agree. However several years ago when they added Parise and Suter a young crop of guys were emerging so there was some added hope. At the time we were projecting the Wild playoff prone, but not a serious threat for the Cup. Most projections, based on landing some possible phenom or had any number of the young prospects excelled, that in 3 to 5 years they possibly could make a serious playoff run.

 

It never happened. Instead the young hopefuls while emerging nicely, were in many cases 'put in their place' to stand behind the 'core leaders' of the team. As many put it, put in the back of the bus; and it was later determined there was divide between the older veteran core and the younger players.

 

Much of this I put directly on Chuck Fletcher (and/or Craig Leipold for watching it all take place and not doing anything about it.) IMO during Yeo's 4th year was when most of us projected (a few years earlier) for the serious playoff runs to start to emerge. To me that was a very pivotal year and instead with the probable locker-room divide, it literally fell to the wayside. From then on it's simply been a matter of salvaging something out of nothing on basically a wing and a prayer.

 

Hopefully his time off has given him something to think about to not let the same mistakes repeat themselves... If it was him who was behind whatever all went on. I hold reservations that he alone was implicit because I also believe Craig Leipold had to have had his hands in there too.

Edited December 6, 2018 by rottenrefs

[OccamsRazor]

16 minutes ago, rottenrefs said:

Hopefully his time off has given him something to think about to not let the same mistakes repeat themselves... If it was him who was behind whatever all went on. I hold reservations that he alone was implicit because I also believe Craig Leipold had to have had his hands in there too.

 

 

He has inherited a great situation prospect wise, NHL roster wise and capwise...so he only has to add some minor tweaks now with Hextall gone and not forcing Halstol to play a certain way and then add in hopefully a better seasoned more cerebral defensive coach in Wilson it will be more on Hak to get this group going.

 

I expect him to evaluate first and hope that Homer let's him do his job and not come in and force him to do something crazy to try and force the playoffs...if Homer pressures him then all bets could be off.

 

I will remain cautiously optimistic. 

 

I will not make any predictions. However now that Stolie has taken over the crease on paper i think they have the guys who can win.

 

Unfortunately the game isn't played on paper. One win at a time.

Edited December 6, 2018 by OccamsRazor

[OccamsRazor]

27 minutes ago, rottenrefs said:

Hopefully his time off has given him something to think about to not let the same mistakes repeat themselves

 

“The cupboard is full. There are a tremendous amount of prospects,” Fletcher said Wednesday at his introductory press conference. “This year, we have nine draft picks — we have an extra third and an extra seventh. We have cap space and we have good players. There’s everything here to be successful and that’s our goal and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s set up for success.”

 

“I’m a big believer in you need all three phases to build a championship team," Fletcher said. "Again, mainly the draft, but you also have to use trades and free agency. You have to have good people, everybody has to be pulling the same way. I do think culture is very important in any organization to be successful.”

 

“When the time is right, we will get to the contract,” Fletcher said. “But certainly there will be a lot of work starting right away in terms of getting to know the file, getting to know the individual, communicating with the agent, and who knows when there’s a fit. But we’ll keep pushing.”

 

 And it was Hextall who started an analytics department to use advanced metrics in analyzing player data. 

 

“I think it’s all critical,” Fletcher said. “We had a pretty good analytics department in Minnesota that we were using more and more. And when I talk about process, that was part of the process. Maybe some areas I’ll tweak a little bit, just from personal preference. But there’s been a lot of thought into building this organization and it’s in a good place.”

 

As well as Hextall drafted and stock piled picks trades and free agency was not his strong suit.

 

I hope Fletch can improve upon that.

 

Certainly time will tell.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by OccamsRazor

[sweetshot]

56 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

“The cupboard is full. There are a tremendous amount of prospects,” Fletcher said Wednesday at his introductory press conference. “This year, we have nine draft picks — we have an extra third and an extra seventh. We have cap space and we have good players. There’s everything here to be successful and that’s our goal and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s set up for success.”

 

“I’m a big believer in you need all three phases to build a championship team," Fletcher said. "Again, mainly the draft, but you also have to use trades and free agency. You have to have good people, everybody has to be pulling the same way. I do think culture is very important in any organization to be successful.”

 

“When the time is right, we will get to the contract,” Fletcher said. “But certainly there will be a lot of work starting right away in terms of getting to know the file, getting to know the individual, communicating with the agent, and who knows when there’s a fit. But we’ll keep pushing.”

 

 And it was Hextall who started an analytics department to use advanced metrics in analyzing player data. 

 

“I think it’s all critical,” Fletcher said. “We had a pretty good analytics department in Minnesota that we were using more and more. And when I talk about process, that was part of the process. Maybe some areas I’ll tweak a little bit, just from personal preference. But there’s been a lot of thought into building this organization and it’s in a good place.”

 

As well as Hextall drafted and stock piled picks trades and free agency was not his strong suit.

 

I hope Fletch can improve upon that.

 

Certainly time will tell.

 

 

 

 

No worries.

[OccamsRazor]

2 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

No worries.

 

None.

[FD19372]

12 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

None.

Until he trades 3 first round picks for Craig Anderson.

[FD19372]

I really want to believe he is going to make good moves to improve this hockey team, without draining our pool of very young talent for 30 + year olds and band-aids. I really do. I also believe he'll have to change the mentality at some point of the GM, and of the ownership of the team. I have serious doubts.