Wild Part Ways With GM Paul Fenton After Single Non-Playoff Year in Charge

For years, Paul Fenton built himself up as an assistant GM for the Nashville Predators to earn a real GM role in the NHL.

Finally, after 25 years, he was given that shot with the Minnesota Wild.

Well, after one year in the state of hockey that saw the Wild miss the postseason, Fenton was relieved of his duties as GM on Tuesday.

Wild owner Craig Leipold made the final decision, cutting ties with Fenton just a little over a year after hiring him. Fenton took over for long-time general manager Chuck Fletcher, who moved on to the Philadelphia Flyers last season. With just 44 days until the beginning of training camp, it comes as a bit of a shock that the Wild have all of a sudden fired their GM.

The decision was apparently made due to some choice trades that Fenton completed in his short tenure with Minnesota. Some of those deals, especially those that sent Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes and Charlie Coyle to the Bruins, reportedly shook up a franchise that was seemingly back on track.

Fenton's latest move was signing Mats Zuccarello to a five-year deal. Although that was a solid pickup for the Wild, it clearly was not the only thing the organization was hoping to get done in the offseason.

With the firing, the Wild are now in search of entirely new leadership. With the season's start on the horizon, the Wild may have to search from within the organization for a convenient replacement. If Minnesota hopes to get more done this offseason, they'll need to fill the GM vacancy sooner rather than later.