Confirmed with Link: Minnesota signs F Matt Read (1 year, 2-way, $650k)

[57special]

Fenton continues to underwhelm.

 

[Bazeek]

Fenton continues to underwhelm.

How does a cheap depth signing on a 1-year, 2-way deal underwhelm?

 

[57special]

Because it does. Maybe it whelms you. Not me. The whole MN angle...again. If Fenton is just going to sit tight and sign nobodies then I don't know why Fletcher was fired. Was his idea to Leipold to just do nothing?

 

[Bazeek]

Because it does. Maybe it whelms you. Not me. The whole MN angle...again. If Fenton is just going to sit tight and sign nobodies then I don't know why Fletcher was fired. Was his idea to Leipold to just do nothing?

I was just wondering if it was specifically in regard to Read or more generally. This signing specifically inspires about as much of a reaction in me as a fresh oil change.

Overall though I can see being underwhelmed by the offseason. I was primed for a big trade before Fletcher was let go, and bringing in Fenton didn't exactly lower my expectations. Still, the sort of trade I'd like to see requires more than just willingness on Fenton's part. Judging from the rest of the activity this summer I'd guess there just hasn't been a deal like that to be made, at least not yet.

But yeah, if we go through a full season and into next summer with Fenton just keeping things between the lines the GM change is going to look a little silly. Either the team performs so well that it ends up sort of vindicating Fletcher, or we stagnate/get worse and Fenton begins to look impotent.

 

[Kamloops218]

Cup contenders now after 18 years.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Because it does. Maybe it whelms you. Not me. The whole MN angle...again. If Fenton is just going to sit tight and sign nobodies then I don't know why Fletcher was fired. Was his idea to Leipold to just do nothing?

Maybe there wasn't a smart move to be made. Do you want him to make a stupid move for the sake of doing something? I don't.

 

[57special]

Maybe there wasn't a smart move to be made. Do you want him to make a stupid move for the sake of doing something? I don't.

Or maybe he doesn't have the wit, imagination, or connections to make a smart move?
Bottom line is that since Fletcher was fired very little of note has been done by Fenton. Even the draft was done by someone else, apparently.
The tweaks have been weak.

 

[2Pair]

Or maybe he doesn't have the wit, imagination, or connections to make a smart move?
Bottom line is that since Fletcher was fired very little of note has been done by Fenton. Even the draft was done by someone else, apparently.
The tweaks have been weak.

You bitched for 2 months after the season ended that they weren't good enough and big changes were needed. When the draft/free agency rolled around, you bitched about all the rumored moves/deals and said that the Wild would be better off not making any major moves. Now you're bitching that the Wild haven't made any major moves? I think we have a pretty good idea how you will likely react to any move Fenton does make.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Or maybe he doesn't have the wit, imagination, or connections to make a smart move?
Bottom line is that since Fletcher was fired very little of note has been done by Fenton. Even the draft was done by someone else, apparently.
The tweaks have been weak.

I can understand the feeling, but really when you have a playoff team, and that playoff had significant injuries, but you expect everyone back and some guys to be better...what more should a team do? They're a cap team, they dumped some guys who weren't going to be part of the future, they added some upgrades, they upgraded the farm, they had what could be a terrific draft despite adp being what it always is for this club. The tweaks have been .... fine. And you're probably right that it won't add up to a Stanley Cup, but give the guy a couple of months to see what he does have before he starts re-tooling for real.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

Or maybe he doesn't have the wit, imagination, or connections to make a smart move?
Bottom line is that since Fletcher was fired very little of note has been done by Fenton. Even the draft was done by someone else, apparently.
The tweaks have been weak.

EVERYONE knows the fans, gm, owner wants to make a trade or two to tweak. He is probably being low balled like no other so the smart move is stay course and let the season run. Nino and Coyle have low value because of last season, let them get into November then trade someone with higher value to acquire someone who can actually improve the team. Who do you expect to trade for in this current situation that blows your mind and makes you ? Aside from Panarin i see nothing great on the market.

 

[57special]

So, Fenton was hired to basically sit tight? Why was Fletcher fired, then?

 

[Bazeek]

So, Fenton was hired to basically sit tight? Why was Fletcher fired, then?

If that's what the current trade market demands? Yes, for now.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

So, Fenton was hired to basically sit tight? Why was Fletcher fired, then?

If the best offer we get is Nino for a prospect+3rd round pick are you accepting it just to accept a trade?

 

[2Pair]

So, Fenton was hired to basically sit tight? Why was Fletcher fired, then?

Because Fletcher proved that he couldn't get it done.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So, Fenton was hired to basically sit tight? Why was Fletcher fired, then?

He was hired to be a good GM. Being a good GM in this situation might have meant sitting tight.

 

[2Pair]

He was hired to be a good GM. Being a good GM in this situation might have meant sitting tight.

I was/am in the camp that wanted to see quite a bit of turnover of the roster this summer, but without knowing who/what was available, calling this offseason a failure seems silly.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

It takes time to develop a stable franchise in pro sports. Once you reach that equilibrium, what incentives are there to disrupt it? You're protecting jobs, and brand value, and shareholder equity when you win as much as the Wild do.

They're so non-confrontational, or you might say low-drama, that they didn't fire anyone much this summer. Rather than "fire," they didn't extend a GM. That was the right way to do it - Chuck Fletcher is a good manager, and I think he represented the state well. But even that "firing" is a lot of change: don't forget about an assistant coach, an AHL coach, shufflings, demotions, people receiving constructive notice you'd assume ... and isn't that a lot of volatility for one summer?

Now, you can also clear out the locker rooms, trade your under-performer for a breakout star, sign a college kid with the right heart for your Frankenstein, but it's not really practical. They took the tack of keeping a lot of the same guys in there, signing a lot of RFAs. Part of that was Fletcher protecting his staff, part of it is the necessity of limiting the turnover.

Too much at once is not good. These players just got a major message. Maybe some of the ones who have under-performed find a way to break out. I do believe it's possible to win with any team that makes the playoffs but time has shown that having faced disappointment, faced criticism, faced the burden of costing decent men their jobs in the name of sport, the right team sometimes wins. But it never happens that way out of chaos.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I was/am in the camp that wanted to see quite a bit of turnover of the roster this summer, but without knowing who/what was available, calling this offseason a failure seems silly.

The one rumor involving Arizona would've been a disaster.

The other "rumor" seemed to involve Carolina, and their deal ended up netting Hamilton (our equivalent is Dumba), which would've also been a disaster. And even if Dumba wasn't involved, would the answer to our troubles really have been trading away players that can't get us past the 1st round for players that can't get their team into the playoffs to begin with?

Other names included O'Reilly (board was probably split on him) and Panarin (who knows if there's even anything there).

Even with all of the "tweak" talks from the GM and owner, we did about what I expected us to do.

 

[a79krgm]

I think this board should have a separate thread to keep track of Fenton's "tweaks".

Call it "Tweak Tracker 2018"? or maybe "Tweaking to the Stanley Cup"?

 

[ThatGuy22]

Because it does. Maybe it whelms you. Not me. The whole MN angle...again. If Fenton is just going to sit tight and sign nobodies then I don't know why Fletcher was fired. Was his idea to Leipold to just do nothing?

Ha, Matt Read is hardly "the MN angle".

He's a canadian that spent a few years at like the 5th most popular college team in the state( and honestly, a few of the girls teams and some MIAC schools are probably more popular).

It's hardly a "one of us" move.

 

[Wabit]

Meh, depth signing. He's probably a better callup option than everyone besides Greenway/Kunin from Iowa at least. Seems like another guy they could have gotten on a PTO instead of using a contract slot.

 

[Wabit]

Meh, depth signing. He's probably a better callup option than everyone besides Greenway/Kunin from Iowa at least. Seems like another guy they could have gotten on a PTO instead of using a contract slot.

 

[thestonedkoala]

I was/am in the camp that wanted to see quite a bit of turnover of the roster this summer, but without knowing who/what was available, calling this offseason a failure seems silly.

I didn't expect a lot of turnover for the roster, but I expected a lot of changes in the front office and in the organization.