The Seattle Kraken announced today that former Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has been added to the team’s hockey operations department as senior advisor to the general manager. Fletcher was previously a senior advisor for the New Jersey Devils, but left the club amidst the team’s leadership change, which saw former GM Tom Fitzgerald replaced by Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta as the team’s new leader of hockey operations.
Seattle is entering a new era after the departure of the team’s first GM, Ron Francis. The club is now being led by Jason Botterill, who is in his second stint as an NHL GM after first serving in the role for the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-18 through 2019-20.
Botterill has already added some experienced names to his front office, including former Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin. Now he adds another former GM in the form of Fletcher, who was the lead hockey executive for the Wild from 2009-10 to 2017-18, and then in Philadelphia from 2018-19 through most of 2022-23.
Amidst a challenging period for the Kraken franchise, Botterill will now be able to lean on the experience and expertise of a former longtime GM.