from Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune,

The Wild might be a fringe playoff team, but isn’t being good but not good enough precisely why Leipold cut ties with Chuck Fletcher?

Leipold demanded tweaks and not a rebuild in starting fresh with Fenton, even though the owner admitted after the 2018 season, “I just don’t see us with this team getting to the championship series.”

Has his thinking changed? And what message will he convey to fans publicly and to his new general manager privately?

The Wild — and Leipold, specifically — appear caught in a tug-of-war between reality and wishful thinking. Leipold likely dreams about the St. Louis Blues’ magic carpet ride last season from misery to sipping champagne out of the Stanley Cup.

Yes, hockey playoffs are wonderfully unpredictable. Get in, get hot, you never know. But is that really an organizational plan?

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