Penguins assistant general manager Bill Guerin has been hired as general manager of the Minnesota Wild.
A source close to Guerin confirmed the hiring this afternoon, and it subsequently was made official by an announcement from the Wild.
Guerin, a member of the Penguins' Stanley Cup-winning team in 2009, joined their front office in a player-development role in 2011. He was in his fifth season as an assistant GM here when he was selected to become the fourth GM in Wild history.
"Bill has been a winner throughout his hockey career," Minnesota owner Craig Leopold said in a statement released by the Wild. "I am extremely pleased to be able to add his experience to our organization."
He succeeds Paul Fenton, who was fired earlier this summer after one season on the job.
Guerin had emerged as the favorite to land the position since shortly after Fenton was fired. Former Penguins assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald, now with New Jersey, also was mentioned as a possibility after being nosed out for the job by Fenton in 2018, but it's not clear how seriously he was considered this time.
Guerin, via text, declined an interview request, writing that he was "super busy."
In an interview with the Wild's website, however, Guerin said, "I was fortunate enough to work under a lot of great people in Pittsburgh that gave me an opportunity. I enjoyed going through those steps and learning from everybody along the way. It's all experience, and you need that experience to prepare you for this job."
"It's something new every day, no matter what role you have in hockey operations, whether it's player development, assistant GM, general manager of an American League team, whatever it is, something new comes up every single day and you have to deal with it, and you have to make it right."
It was not immediately known if the Penguins will hire someone to replace Guerin or to assume his duties, which include serving as GM of the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
Jim Rutherford said recently that he had a plan in place if the Wild hired Guerin, and that there were several in-house candidates capable of overseeing the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton operation. He said they include Jason Karmanos, also an assistant GM with the Penguins, pro scouting director Derek Clancey and pro scout Ryan Bowness.
Rutherford could not immediately be reached for comment.
Guerin, 48, played 18 seasons in the NHL, the final two here. He finished his career with 429 goals and 427 assists in 1,263 regular-season games. He also played for New Jersey (where he won a Cup in 1995), Edmonton, Boston, Dallas, St. Louis, San Jose and the New York Islanders.
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