Report: Wild hoping to speak with Hextall about GM vacancy

The Minnesota Wild aren't wasting any time in their search for a replacement for general manager Paul Fenton, who was fired Tuesday.

Minnesota has reached out for permission to speak to Ron Hextall, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports. Wild owner Craig Leipold and team president Matt Majka could interview Hextall as early as Wednesday, sources told The Athletic's Michael Russo.

Hextall replacing Fenton would be an ironic twist considering Fenton's predecessor in Minnesota, Chuck Fletcher, replaced Hextall as Philadelphia Flyers GM last year.

The 1987 Vezina Trophy winner served as the Flyers' general manager from May 7, 2014, to Nov. 26, 2018, making the playoffs twice.

Hextall built a deep farm system while running the Flyers, drafting the likes of Travis Sanheim, Oskar Lindblom, Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, and Carter Hart within a three-year span. Perhaps more regrettably, he also selected Nolan Patrick second overall in 2017 ahead of Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, and Elias Pettersson.

Tom Kurvers is currently serving as acting Wild GM.

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