From TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger:

Fletcher is the former Minnesota Wild GM who now serves in an advisory role for the New Jersey Devils. Prior to his nine seasons in Saint Paul, he spent three years as Ray Shero’s assistant in Pittsburgh, a time in which the Penguins reached two Stanley Cup finals.

For background, here’s now Fletcher’s Wild teams performed over the years. He started in May of 2009, so his first full season was 2009-2010:

  • 2009-2010: 38-36-8, no playoffs
  • 2010-2011: 39-35-8, no playoffs
  • 2011-2012: 35-36-11, no playoffs
  • 2012-2013: 26-19-3, lost to Blackhawks in first round
  • 2013-2014: 43-27-12, beat Avalanche in first round, lost to Blackhawks in second round
  • 2014-2015: 46-28-8, beat Blues in first round, lost to Blackhawks in second round
  • 2015-2016: 38-33-11, lost to Stars in first round
  • 2016-2017: 49-25-8, lost to Blues in first round
  • 2017-2018: 45-26-11, lost to Jets in first round

Fletcher’s teams couldn’t get out of the second round, running into the Blackhawks in three straight seasons. They went 2-6 in playoff series during his tenure there.

Some of that just is what it is. Chicago was a phenomenal team back then, but Minnesota was hardly even competitive in those series, losing 4-1, 4-2, and 4-0. They went out 4-1 to the Blues and Jets the last two seasons.

The 2016-17 season saw the Wild finish 4th best in the NFL with 106 points before bombing out in the first round. That squad didn’t have any one guy who put up MVP numbers, but they were balanced across the board – 69 points for Mikael Granlund, 65 points for Eric Staal, and consistent contributions from Jason Pominville, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter, and Zach Parise.

Parise and Suter were easily his best free agent signings, and that’s part of the reason why they made the playoffs for six straight seasons. Losing Eric Haula and Alex Tuch in a Vegas expansion fleecing ended up being a poor strategy in the end, despite most general managers having their hands tied with draft rules that favored the Knights.

An SB Nation article also details Fletcher’s dealings in the rental market:

He acquired Matt Moulson for two second-round picks in 2014. Moulson didn’t make an impact. He acquired Chris Stewart for a second-round pick in 2015, which didn’t improve the team substantially. He acquired Martin Hanzal in 2017 for a first, second, who did make the team better, but ultimately didn’t matter once Jake Allen and the Blues eliminated Minnesota.

Those spent picks added up, what did they get for them? 60 or so games, and no meaningful playoff success. The rental market was fool’s gold, and it hamstrung the Wild’s scouting department. They’ve had just 8 picks in the first three rounds in the last 5 drafts. If you want to know why the Wild haven’t had many good call-up options in recent years, look no further.

As far as coaching, Fletcher had Todd Richards, Mike Yeo, and Bruce Boudreau in Minnesota. Richards was fired in 2011 and Yeo was eventually fired when the team couldn’t get over the playoff hump. Boudreau led Washington and Anaheim to countless disappointing playoff exits and has overseen two first-round clunkers since coming to St. Paul.

That’s the quick read on Fletcher. He put together some good teams that just couldn’t get the job done in the postseason.

We’ll see what happens with this Flyers’ meeting, but he’s the leader in the club house for the GM job, based on a couple of reports.