The Minnesota Wild cut ties with general manager Paul Fenton in July after just 14 months at the position.
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Wild have interviewed Pittsburgh Penguins assistant general manager Bill Guerin and Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell for the vacant general manager job.
In addition to the Wild interviewing Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Bill Guerin on Monday afternoon for the second consecutive offseason, multiple sources tell The Athletic that owner Craig Leipold and team president Matt Majka interviewed current Carolina Hurricanes president, general manager and alternate governor Don Waddell on Monday morning.
Since retiring from playing in the NHL in 2010, Guerin has been a member of the Penguins franchise. He began as a player development coach and in 2014 was promoted to the role of assistant general manager. Guerin has also served as the general manager for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL.
Like Guerin, Waddell has also spent time in the Penguins organization as a professional scout. Waddell was named the Hurricanes president and general manager in May 2018, but his contract expired on June 30, which means that Waddell is technically a free agent as he's yet to sign a new deal.
Waddell was an NHL GM of the Year finalist this past season and acquired right wing Nino Niederreiter from the Wild at the trade deadline in a deal that netted Minnesota center Victor Rask.
The Wild decided to part ways with Fenton after the franchise missed the postseason for the first time in seven years. Minnesota was a seller at the trade deadline as it shipped Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, and Niederreiter out of town.
However, the team signed right wing Mats Zuccarello to a five-year, $30 million contract at the start of free agency despite appearing to be in a rebuild. It's an interesting mix considering the Wild still have aging veterans like Zach Parise and Eric Staal on their roster.
