Management Paul Fenton

[DeagleJenkins]

Let's say it's one GM to give you full benefit of the doubt. So one GM called about Granlund, was told Granlund isn't being traded, then Granlund was traded for Fiala without at least being called back. From your perspective that's acceptable? That's a fireable offense in my book.

fireable? no. acceptable? yeah. not every team is gonna give you enough to match what you want for granlund. judging by leafs fans if toronto was that team that called i wouldnt call back as they would throw a 7th rounder and say its even.

 

[57special]

Russo wrote an entire article centered around a Granlund/Fiala trade the night before TDL, so something obviously got out.

I'm sure he still has Fletcher's number: "did you have any idea that Granlund was on the trade block? No? Ok." Rinse and repeat to any other GM he knows. It wouldn't be that hard to find out.

Or it might be more nuanced. He could contact a beat writer for another team and ask if he heard anything from his contacts about Granlund.

 

[Wild11MN]

Two other quotes that I found annoying from the mailbag

Q:
In the press conference, Fenton said he would take the best player available. With the huge miss in the draft last year, should we be at all concerned about who he’ll select? And would it also be head scratching if he picked a defenseman over a forward?
A:
I think it completely depends on their list, which they work over and over again. Last year, to me, is still very peculiar because I do get the impression from many different sources that this was not a Flahr pick

I thought most people thought it was a Flahr pick at the time. That's a bad sign.

Q:
What's your thoughts on Fenton chastising media for reporting injuries? It's your job to report the news.
A:
That's my thought on it. My issue is I did my best to respect his wishes all season long and then after I reported Parise's injuries once I knew he wasn't playing the final two games just to show the fans what this guy was dealing with and why he couldn't play down the stretch, Paul still was perturbed. I just don't get it and this will continue to obviously be a problem between us

I mean, wth is the problem with that?

 

[2Pair]

Two other quotes that I found annoying from the mailbag



I thought most people thought it was a Flahr pick at the time. That's a bad sign.



I mean, wth is the problem with that?

Wonder where the speculation that it was Flahr's pick came from in the first place?

Fenton and the team made it a policy that they were not going to report or discuss injuries. Russo is under no obligation to respect that policy. Fenton is under no obligation to respect Russo if that's what Russo decides to do.

 

[Spurgeon]

I can't wait until he's fired. Just hope he doesnt f*** the team up too badly before then.

 

[AJ Thelen]

I can't wait until he's fired. Just hope he doesnt **** the team up too badly before then.

I'm ok with giving him time, but if he drafts another 3rd rounder in the 1st (to "outsmart people") and continues picking up/trading for players he knows from the past that obviously aren't good enough, then i'll probably join your que. And Victor Rask. Jesus f***ing christ man. As i said from day one. He'll be bought out. He can't play bottom 6 and he sure as hell ain't good enough for a top 6 role.

 

[57special]

I think Rask can play 4th line C. It's not so much that he is bad. He is just innocuous. It was an extremely short sample size, so take this with a grain of salt, but Sturm looked better to me. Stronger, faster, good two way game. Fehr was also better than Rask, IMO. He and Foligno were good on the PK. Does anyone trust Rask on the PK?

I sense a situation where Sturm is sent to the AHL, or sat on the bench because Fenton wants Rask to be played so the Nino/Rask trade doesn't look so bad. With Koivu out, we won't have to deal with that situation till about midway through next season. I see Staal as #1C, Ek as #2C, Rask and Strum as #3/4C. If we get a FA C, then one of Sturm or Rask will move to wing, or get sent down.

Unless Rask picks his game up, I see BB and Fenton being at odds with this roster. We already saw it this year with Bitetto, Prosser, Seeler, and Rask....maybe Fiala.

Rask...Fehr...Sturm...it's too early to say about Sturm, but in general there isn't that big of a talent separation. The fact that Rask makes 4M is the elephant in the room. Paying him 4M and Foligno 2.75M to play on the 4th line? Not great.

 

[2Pair]

I'm ok with giving him time, but if he drafts another 3rd rounder in the 1st (to "outsmart people") and continues picking up/trading for players he knows from the past that obviously aren't good enough, then i'll probably join your que. And Victor Rask. Jesus ****ing christ man. As i said from day one. He'll be bought out. He can't play bottom 6 and he sure as hell ain't good enough for a top 6 role.

Why is that?

 

[Spurgeon]

I'm ok with giving him time, but if he drafts another 3rd rounder in the 1st (to "outsmart people") and continues picking up/trading for players he knows from the past that obviously aren't good enough, then i'll probably join your que. And Victor Rask. Jesus ****ing christ man. As i said from day one. He'll be bought out. He can't play bottom 6 and he sure as hell ain't good enough for a top 6 role.

I just am very concerned how poorly he's done in a year and what that could possibly mean for this team in 2-3 years.

It all started with wasting our first round pick on a late 2nd rounder, which was confirmed by Russo was not Flahr's pick.

Then you have the Rask trade, which is horrible. He took our 2nd/3rd best winger and traded him straight up for a cap dump. That trade really showed his level of incompetence and lack of understanding of the team.

Then he made Granlund available to only ONE team. In that trade, he didn't even ask for a pick. He had his mind set on one player and that's all he wanted to get, even if it meant giving up our best forward.

He clearly has his mind set on making this team younger and retooling. However, he signs Staal to an extension at the deadline when he had an offer for a 1st+?

The sooner this guy has his hands off this organization, the faster it's going to improve IMO. He made this team worse and half-committed to a rebuild that's going to leave this team in the garbage mediocrity zone of bubble team and 15th pick.

 

[57special]

I just am very concerned how poorly he's done in a year and what that could possibly mean for this team in 2-3 years.

It all started with wasting our first round pick on a late 2nd rounder, which was confirmed by Russo was not Flahr's pick.

Then you have the Rask trade, which is horrible. He took our 2nd/3rd best winger and traded him straight up for a cap dump. That trade really showed his level of incompetence and lack of understanding of the team.

Then he made Granlund available to only ONE team. In that trade, he didn't even ask for a pick. He had his mind set on one player and that's all he wanted to get, even if it meant giving up our best forward.

He clearly has his mind set on making this team younger and retooling. However, he signs Staal to an extension at the deadline when he had an offer for a 1st+?

The sooner this guy has his hands off this organization, the faster it's going to improve IMO. He made this team worse and half-committed to a rebuild that's going to leave this team in the garbage mediocrity zone of bubble team and 15th pick.

It doesn't matter if it was Flahr picking him or not. As GM, the buck stops with you!
I predict that his next trade will be McLeod (NJD) for Zucker. On paper it makes some sense. Mcleod is a very fast, RH center. 21yo. Wild would win cap space, and get a position of need.

I you dig a little deeper, though, you will hear NJD fans saying that not only was he ineffective at the NHL level, but that he was mediocre in the AHL.

Seems about perfect for us.

IMO, I would do McLeod and NJD's 2nd for Zucker. It's not great value, and I'm not sure that I trust Fenton with cap space, but it's painfully obvious that Zucker is done here, unless Fenton does something incredibly stupid like trade Greenway.

 

[keeneyedobserver]

Fenton is off to a miserable start. He ripped the guts out of a team that would have made the playoffs. He drafted badly, and has now turned the draft over his son? What could go wrong?

He needs his aging vets, Parise, Suter, Koivu and Staal if the team is to be decent at all.....but what happens to their will to compete if they see that group Fenton assembles can’t cut it?

And....if the team begins poorly next year, Russo will ride him like a rented mule.

 

[Spurgeon]

It doesn't matter if it was Flahr picking him or not. As GM, the buck stops with you!
I predict that his next trade will be McLeod (NJD) for Zucker. On paper it makes some sense. Mcleod is a very fast, RH center. 21yo. Wild would win cap space, and get a position of need.

I you dig a little deeper, though, you will hear NJD fans saying that not only was he ineffective at the NHL level, but that he was mediocre in the AHL.

Seems about perfect for us.

IMO, I would do McLeod and NJD's 2nd for Zucker. It's not great value, and I'm not sure that I trust Fenton with cap space, but it's painfully obvious that Zucker is done here, unless Fenton does something incredibly stupid like trade Greenway.

I'm fine with a trade like that. I think with the direction that Fenton was taking us, Zucker and Staal should have both been off of this team at the deadline for prospects/picks. With any high-end UFA signings (and maybe even without them), this team is going to be good enough to make the playoffs, but they're not going to be a threat whatsoever. We're going to get a middling position in the draft and we're going to continue treading water.

Fenton had two choices when he came here. Continue what Fletcher was doing and try to bring in talent to make this team a threat for the next 3-4 years OR he could've rebuilt this team completely and had them back to being competitive in 3 years. For some reason, he thought we could do both at the same time.

 

[57special]

I'm fine with a trade like that. I think with the direction that Fenton was taking us, Zucker and Staal should have both been off of this team at the deadline for prospects/picks. With any high-end UFA signings (and maybe even without them), this team is going to be good enough to make the playoffs, but they're not going to be a threat whatsoever. We're going to get a middling position in the draft and we're going to continue treading water.

Fenton had two choices when he came here. Continue what Fletcher was doing and try to bring in talent to make this team a threat for the next 3-4 years OR he could've rebuilt this team completely and had them back to being competitive in 3 years. For some reason, he thought we could do both at the same time.

ya, i just don't see the direction he is going in, or rather, i think i do, and it's muddled.

 

[BigT2002]

ya, i just don't see the direction he is going in, or rather, i think i do, and it's muddled.

He's got some Jerry Jones flash to him doesn't he? Thinks he knows how to pick talent over folks who've been doing it for years. Going to be a microscope over every decision he makes. Not like he cares what we all think -- that is until the sellouts start running a risk of dropping OR that sweet, sweet STH waiting list starts to dwindle...

 

[57special]

All Leipold has to do is look over the river at the Twolves franchise to realize how bad it can get. I have liked him as an owner so far...I hope he is quick to jump in and fire Fenton if he continues to make odd decisions. I'm not 100% down of Fenton, but I certainly am having my doubts.

Having his son in on the fun is a bad look.

 

[2Pair]

He's got some Jerry Jones flash to him doesn't he? Thinks he knows how to pick talent over folks who've been doing it for years. Going to be a microscope over every decision he makes. Not like he cares what we all think -- that is until the sellouts start running a risk of dropping OR that sweet, sweet STH waiting list starts to dwindle...

That's pretty much the most important trait to have in a GM

 

[AKL]

Not to mention, in regards to drafting at least, he is one of the folks who've been doing it for years, so

 

[AJ Thelen]

Why is that?

Well, he can of course play in a bottom 6 role. What i don't think he can do is doing it well. I want my bottom 6 guys to be hard working grinders with a decent set of hands that hustle for 60 minutes.
Victor Rask is more of the uninspired boat anchor kind.

 

[2Pair]

Well, he can of course play in a bottom 6 role. What i don't think he can do is doing it well. I want my bottom 6 guys to be hard working grinders with a decent set of hands that hustle for 60 minutes.
Victor Rask is more of the uninspired boat anchor kind.

That's Victor Rask

 

[TaLoN]

That's pretty much the most important trait to have in a GM

The most important trait is to ACTUALLY be good at it when you think you are.

It remains to be seen if Fenton is as good as he thinks he is. Early returns don't look promising.

 

[AJ Thelen]

That's Victor Rask

No, it's not. And paying 4 million dollars a year for a bottom 6/3 player is not how you build a competative team.

 

[BigT2002]

That's pretty much the most important trait to have in a GM

I don't know, I see the most important trait for a GM is what you want for any Executive Vice President for your business: knows business acumen and is easy to deal with. Come off too weak you'll get pushed around. Come off too strong and no one will want to work with you. He should have people within the organization under him to do all the dirty work and come up with the assessment, just like you would be doing if it were a company planning on an acquisition of another company. Do they fit the current mold? Do they bring something new to the org that will make it more profitable? Are there issues that could potentially lead to issues down the road? Will it cohesively work with the current businesses inside the company already? Same can easily be said when trading or drafting. You're looking for a commodity that is supposed to benefit the team. The GM is merely the person to do the business side of things. And like a business, the decision ultimately ends with them. Hence they should be basing it off of what others who have in-depth experience in judging the talent.

But I do cede that Fenton played in the NHL...which at least shows he understands the game more than just a business person would. Like Chayka and many others without going through the list.

However, if he's calling the shots with no true input from those who's entire job is to assess talent -- he's 1-for-3 right now on trades. Draft remains me to be seen. Rome wasn't built in day, but it wasn't destroyed in one either. Significant improvement next year will all but likely need to happen, or I can't imagine Leipold is going to sit on his hands for very long.

 

[57special]

Fenton might have been elevated to his level of incompetence. We'll see. There is no doubt that he isn't a charmer....which doesn't really matter, except that GM's with a good public face get a slightly longer rope with the public. So far he comes across as dull, secretive, an incompetent trader, and a questionable drafter. Oh, and hiring his son. I also have to wonder about how good his NHL network is, and by that i don't mean his cable provider, but the people he knows on teams around the league.

What I do like is that he is creating cap space, and not trading away draft picks. Having cap space can be really handy at the TDL. It allows you to take on bad cap from teams in exchange for picks/talent, or take on talent that has a high cap hit for less than market value. Think TOR of a few years ago.

It looks like next year is gonna be a rocky one, also. I'm fine with that, as long as there is a plan.