Wild reportedly hire Bill Guerin as general manager

The Minnesota Wild have reportedly hired the fourth general manager in team history. According to a report from The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Wild have hired Bill Guerin as general manager.

Guerin had spent the past five years as the assistant general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins. During his time in the front office with the Penguins the team won two Stanley Cups.

The 48-year old had an 18-year career in the NHL and played for eight teams. The former fifth overall pick in the 1989 draft won two Stanley Cups as a player. Guerin has ties to the Wild front office, as he was teammates with Mike Modano with the Dallas Stars for four years.

“I think this is a great hire,” Lake Martin, a contributor for Gone Puck Wild said. “They didn’t get stuck on having to have a guy who had bona fide general manager experience, like Ron Hextall. They got a guy who has been in an organization that knows how to succeed. Ron Had an idea for NHL talent and prospects, but so did Paul Fenton. Plus with the Wild retaining PJ Fenton, who largely ran the draft table this year, Craig Leipold opted to get a general manager who could actually lead this team without destroying front office chemistry and morale.”

After whiffing on Fenton last year, Leipold and the front office had to get this right. They are bringing in a man who has a winning pedigree, both as a player and in the front office. With the season right around the corner, it’s hard to envision him making any wholesale changes to the roster right off the bat, but he’ll hit the ground running when he arrives in the State of Hockey.

“The first few things he has to do is talk to Jared Spurgeon and Kirill Kaprizov,” Martin said. “He’ll have to rebuild the front office and analytics department and decide where they’ll go coaching wise-extending Bruce Boudreau or letting the season play out, and prepare for training camp.”