So hey real quick. GM JB, you know you need to engender optimism in your regime, right
The Kraken announced today that ex-Devils/Penguins/Flyers/Wild executive Chuck Fletcher has been given a job as Senior Advisor to the GM:
Chuck Fletcher has been making the rounds throughout the NHL, and it should be noted that he has been an executive on good teams; he was the AGM of the Ducks prior to their 2003 run to the cup and oversaw part of their ascent to prominence out in the Western Conference, he was AGM with Ray Shero on the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins. As a GM, he was the guy who oversaw the Wild to two of their most punishing contracts ever signed, and was a very mercurial hire for the Philadelphia Flyers; drafting a lot of the guys they now rely on year in, year out, but also the overseer of famously bad decisions and extremely stale, slow, sedate Trade Deadlines. He’s mostly been in advisory roles ever since; notably with teams that did not make the playoffs since his stints as GM.
I’m gonna be real; I really, really, really hope he’s just a good person to hang out with. Just a phenomenal dude to have at the water cooler…because from a hockey perspective this feels like a very confusing and quite frankly an own-goal of a decision.
The Kraken are trying to re-establish themselves as a reason to be cared about in the NHL and more importantly in Seattle. Getting the guy who defined himself as extremely “meh”, and is frankly coming out of a very rough stretch of time as an executive, particularly when it comes to trying to improve the team he’s a part of…that’s gonna be a hard sell for just about anybody.
Now granted, the actual amount of Stuff Fletcher is doing at this point is up in the air, and ultimately Jason Botterill is the GM and his word (and more importantly, his name) goes on every acquisition and trade made by the team, but cautious movement is what got the Kraken where they are now; out of the playoffs, and hoping for either a surprise run or the bottom to fall out for a top 3 pick. That mentality, to be quite frank, is one fans are sick to actual death of. Whatever his suggestions are for Jason Botterill, I really hope he’s picked up an analytics focused mindset that could help him with that, because the alternative does not spark confidence based on his track record.
Regardless, welcome Chuck to The Deep, and let’s all hope he’s learned something from his recent stints on the Flyers and Devils.