Hockey Wilderness, a Minnesota Wild community

A news conference to introduce Fletcher is scheduled for 4 p.m. today. "I'm absolutely convinced he's the right guy for that job," Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, who had Fletcher as his assistant GM in Anaheim, said during a telephone interview. "I don't mean to imply there weren't other worthy candidates, but he's ready for this. "He's worked with teams who have played in the Stanley Cup Finals three different times [Florida, Anaheim and Pittsburgh]. He missed a Cup by a year with us in Anaheim, and his paws were all over that team. He's a good judge of talent. He's done all the components of the GM job. He's negotiated player contracts, he's looked after farm systems, he's worked on amateur and professional scouting. He's basically done every job in the portfolio of being a GM."

The Wild's owner, Craig Leipold, took a hard look at his organization during a troubling season and, without hinting at his intentions or flogging anyone publicly, decided it was time to fire general manager Doug Risebrough. He did so, and immediately conducted a hiring process that proved exhaustive, logical and decisive. He interviewed the best up-and-coming GM candidates in the NHL, as well as a few old heads. He narrowed his search to the most outstanding candidates, and finally chose Fletcher, who possesses an impressive résumé, has worked with many of the best brains in the business, and is a cog in a championship-caliber franchise.

Unnamed sources have told IllegalCurve.com that David Conte will be named the next General Manager of the Minnesota Wild. Conte was the longtime Director of Scouting for the New Jersey Devils, as well, he held the title of Executive Vice President of the franchise. His work on the draft has been praised for many years and he has been seen as one of the most important members of the New Jersey Devils’ front office for the past 25 seasons.

Pierre McGuire has become a prominent voice in hockey through years of blunt analysis from the broadcast booth. Now he's interested in running a team himself. The Minnesota Wild are evaluating their general manager opening, and McGuire is one of the finalists. He has played professionally in Europe, coached at the college level, and served in the NHL as a scout, assistant coach, assistant general manager and head coach. But McGuire's candidacy essentially comes from the nontraditional category. He hasn't been part of a team for 12 years, instead breaking down the game for Canada sports network TSN and more recently for U.S. viewers on NBC. That independent perspective, however, is the essence of his aspiration.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I believe the Wild will complete its first interviews when owner Craig Leipold sits down with assistant GM and acting GM Tom Lynn. It makes sense. Lynn’s been in Houston. Leipold’s been in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Both will be in Milwaukee for Game 7 of the Houston-Milwaukee series, so I’m sure they’ll sit down for Lynn’s interview. After that, according to sources, Leipold, Jac Sperling and Matt Majka will cut the list to a handful of finalists who will be brought back for second interviews and tours of the offices and arena. Those finalists will likely include at least TSN analyst Pierre McGuire, Pittsburgh assistant GM Chuck Fletcher and Anaheim assistant GM Dave McNab.

One name emerged Tuesday that is clearly a serious candidate. On Saturday, sources tell me that owner Craig Leipold interviewed Ducks assistant GM David McNab. Here is the link to the story. McNab is an interesting candidate. He’s another second generation hockey guy and is extremely respected. He’s been with Anaheim since Day One and is largely responsible for the Ducks’ always impressive collegiate crop, which has been an area where critics say the Wild must improve. McNab’s signed Chris Kunitz, Andy McDonald, Dustin Penner, Ryan Shannon, Ryan Carter, Curtis Glencross and MacGregor Sharp out of college.