Paul Fenton's tenure as GM of the Minnesota Wild was a short and less-than-decorated one. He's getting another chance, albeit in a scouting capacity, with the Blue Jackets' front office.
The Athletic's Craig Custance reported Monday afternoon that Fenton, 60, is set to join Jarmo Kekalainen's staff as a scout. Fenton was the longtime assistant GM and scouting director of the Nashville Predators, who arguably drafted and developed better than any NHL team in the 2000s, before getting his shot as a GM in Minnesota.
Paul Fenton is back in the game as a scout with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Has always been a strong talent evaluator. Nice addition for them.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) February 10, 2020
While it was an ill-fated one season as the Wild GM, Fenton cut his chops as a scout and is considered among the best in that regard.
Former #mnwild GM Paul Fenton will be doing part-time scouting the rest of the year for #cbj. GM Jarmo Kekalainen called Craig Leipold some time ago to ask permission and Bill Guerin gave final permission the past few days. Wild will keep paying term left on his contract. (1/2)
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 10, 2020
The Athletic's Mike Russo wrote an in-depth piece on the issues that felled Fenton in his short stint with Minnesota, which you can read here.
