The Seattle Kraken have added Chuck Fletcher as a senior advisor, and his résumé comes with plenty of debate attached.
His work in Minnesota still draws mixed reviews. Some analysts have argued that Fletcher, while running the Wild, took too much heat for the 13-year, $98 million deals given to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in 2012.
THN’s Ken Campbell wrote, “No Cups, no sustainable success and very little improvement to show for nine years of Parise and Suter. A couple of big-time duds, right?
Dead wrong. While the results might not have been there, neither Parise nor Suter shortchanged the Wild one penny when it came to effort, determination and selflessness.”
Even so, the end result in Minnesota was messy. The Wild bought out the final four years of both contracts, and Campbell also noted, “The Wild enjoyed three 100-point seasons during Parise’s and Suter’s tenures, but never finished higher than second in their division and won only two playoff rounds.”
Fletcher’s run in Philadelphia brought even less goodwill. When he was hired as Flyers general manager in December 2018, NBC Sports Philadelphia described him as “aggressive and progressive.
He understands the grand scheme. He can play the short game while still seeing the long view.
He gets the risk and reward to his decision-making.”
But the moves that followed didn’t all age well. In 2019, Fletcher said, “I’m not trading Claude Giroux, that’s for sure.
I would never say never to almost anybody besides Giroux.” He later dealt Giroux in March 2022.
Associated Press summed up the Flyers years this way: “Moves didn’t really pay off,” AP said of Fletcher’s tenure. “His trade for defenseman Ryan Ellis and the free-agent signing of forward Cam Atkinson yielded nothing because of injuries, and the same happened with rich contract extensions to Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier.”
The AP report also pointed to several other costly additions, including Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Tony DeAngelo, while Shayne Gostisbehere became a salary-cap casualty. Fletcher was dismissed in March 2023. AP said, “A series of bad contracts, unfortunate injuries, sagging attendance and one of the worst records in the NHL ultimately doomed Fletcher.”
Broad Street Buzz, looking back on the Flyers’ track record under Fletcher, was blunt about the hire: “Fletcher failed to make any impact during major deadlines.”
In Other News...
Jagger Firkus Has Put Real Pressure On The Kraken This Camp
Jagger Firkus has spent the start of camp doing what young forwards are supposed to do when they finally get a real look: make the decision harder. The 22-year-old has already put together two AHL seasons, and the leap in his scoring and all-around game last year was enough to get him into Seattles full training camp, where the Kraken are getting a closer read on a player who has clearly moved beyond prospect status.
For a team that is still sorting out its forward group, Firkus offers a different kind of pressure than a veteran tryout or a depth option fighting to survive. Coaches and analysts have pointed to his offensive touch and his growth away from the puck as reasons he could belong in the lineup this season, and the organizations internal conversations have only sharpened that feeling. The question now is less about whether he has earned attention and more about how long Seattle can keep him waiting for a real opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Just Made A Surprise Change That Could Affect Their Young Core
Jessica Campbells departure is a notable one for Seattle because it comes out of a year in which she had already become one of the organizations more visible voices behind the bench. The former Kraken assistant coach has now moved into player development with the New Jersey Devils, a switch that keeps her in a role focused on helping young players grow even as it shifts her away from the day-to-day NHL bench environment in Seattle.
Chuck Fletcher is the name now attached to that same job in Seattle, arriving after a front-office shakeup in New Jersey that followed the firing of general manager Tom Fitzgerald in April. For the Kraken, the change matters because player development sits close to the heart of what the franchise is trying to build with its young core, and this kind of behind-the-scenes move can quietly shape how prospects are handled, taught and prepared over time. [Read more 🡒]
Matty Beniers Sends Clear Message About Who Belongs In Seattle
Matty Beniers stepped into Kraken training camp this week with the voice of someone already carrying more than his years. Wearing the alternate captain role, he talked about a topic that reached beyond one player or one roster move, framing his earlier comments about Jason Robertson's decision not to join the team as part of a bigger message about what Seattle wants to be. For a franchise still shaping its identity, Beniers made it clear the bar is not just talent, but buy-in, the kind of commitment that fits a city and a room trying to build something lasting.
Beniers has come a long way since Seattle drafted him in 2021, and the Kraken keep seeing that evolution not just in his play but in how he carries himself. The timing matters, too, with camp offering the first real glimpse of how the leadership group will set the tone for another season. Beniers' stance leaves little doubt about where he sees his future, even as the bigger question lingers around how Seattle defines the players it wants to keep and the ones it expects to attract. [Read more 🡒]