General Manager Chuck Fletcher is now in his second year of dismantling and rebuilding a team on the fly that Doug Risebrough and company drove so it far into the ground that Haliburton is now exploring it for oil.

High draft picks traded away to move up one spot in the draft, or to secure veteran players despite having no chance at a Cup run. Franchise level players allowed to walk for nothing, UFA veterans not traded at the deadline to add picks. Players rushed into the league and forced to play bit roles rather than develop in the AHL or juniors.

The story has been told, the question is, how does it get fixed?

Fletcher inherited contracts that, while not out of line with the league, lock the team into a state of mediocrity that cannot easily be escaped without a full blown rebuilding process. Eleven players make between $2.3 million and $4 million annually. None of these players are undeserving of those contracts; however, they limit what the team can do in the off-season.

When a $3 million deal expires, you cannot suddenly run out and sign an $8 million sniper. Instead, you are stuck looking at the guys you can land for around $3 million. The average, mediocre set. Three-million-dollar guys are great; the life blood of a hockey team. They play the roles needed to win, and they add heart and soul to a roster. Generally, they do not score 50 goals a season.

With that in mind, Fletcher added a draft pick at the deadline, traded late round picks to secure extra early round picks, signed franchise players, inked free agents, made trades, and has reshaped the roster in two seasons into what could be a very good team if they will listen to coach Todd Richards.

Looking at the additions and additions by subtraction that the Wild have made this summer:

New Additions:

Matt Cullen: Likely the most important signing of this off-season for the Wild, Cullen will fill a long standing gap in the second line. The second line center role was been filled by committee during the Risebrough era, mostly due to his inability to get free agents to sign here and a strong inability to part with his precious James Sheppard to secure a trade. Cullen will likely center a line between Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse, so he will have plenty of chances to both score and dish the puck off.

Cullen adds more than just a much needed plug for a gaping hole. He also brings years of experience, leadership, and a Stanley Cup ring. Cullen is a major upgrade from the centers of the Wild’s past, but he is not a savior. Wild fans should not count on Cullen to make the Wild a Cup contender overnight, but they should count on him to points on the board.

Brad Staubitz: After losing Derek Boogaard (more on that below) and John Scott, the Wild had some toughness to make up. The main difference between Staubitz and the Boogeyman is that Staubitz will be expected to contribute defensively and offensively in between bouts. He can play a regular shift, which allows Richards to roll four lines regularly, lengthening the bench, and cutting down on the minutes of the top line guys in defensive situations. At the cost of just a fifth round pick, Staubitz could shape up to be a steal for the Wild.

Eric Nystrom: Another player brought in to re-engineer the shut down side of the Wild’s game. Nystrom is a battler, an in the corner type guy. A former 1st round pick, we’ll call him the anti-James Sheppard. The Calgary Flames and Nystrom figured out quickly that he was not going to be an offensive superstar, and they worked together to find him a role that he plays perfectly. He can hit you hard, he can win a fight, he can prevent goals, and he can score goals. He is a prototypical third/fourth line guy. He brings energy, toughness, and veteran savvy to the Wild. This is likely one of the better signings for the team this off-season.

John Madden: When a team gives up 239 goals, including 51 on the penalty kill, they look for a solution to that problem. And fast. Adding a former Selke Award winner, even if he is 37, is a good way to stop the bleeding. Fletcher had to be thinking of Mikko Koivu with this signing. Bringing in a guy like Madden takes the PK burden, and that of the lone shut down center, off of Koivu. The addition of Madden could signal an offensive uptick in Koivu’s game. The Wild will also count on Madden to continue with his modest contribution to the offense. On that thought, Madden outscored James Sheppard, Derek Boogaard, John Scott, and Robbie Earl last season. Combined.

Clayton Stoner: A young defenseman, brought up as an injury replacement only to find himself injured as well. He is a Wild draft pick, developed in the Wild system. He showed some promise, have an assist and winning a fight in his first NHL game. Stoner was given an interesting contract for the upcoming season. He signed a two year deal, with the first year being a one-way deal, the second being a two-way deal. In other words: “Here’s your chance, kid. Don’t blow it.”

Pierre-Marc Bouchard: Wait a minute. He was drafted by the Wild. He isn’t an addition, is he? Well, after missing the entire 2009-10 campaign with post-concussion symptoms, the Wild hope to have Bouchard back on the roster and healthy for the coming season. How often does a team add a sixty point right wing and have to give up nothing to get him? Bouchard offers a playmaker for the top line, should Richards be able to pry Antti Miettinen away from the top spot on Mikko Koivu’s wing. If this happens, Koivu will need to be the sniper, as shooting has never been Bouchard’s first thought.

The addition of Bouchard back to the roster makes the top line much more lethal, just so long as the chemistry can be found, and Koivu is willing to be the scorer.

Coming Back:

Mikko Koivu: Despite the melt down across the NHL, the extension given to Koivu was a stroke of genius. The Wild needed to show fans that they can retain the top talent after letting Gaborik walk, and the fans needed something to stay consistent during a time of turnover. The contract makes Koivu the 21st highest paid player in the league, which is extremely fair unless you only look at goals and assists as metrics of success. He is the best player to ever don a Wild sweater, and over the life of this contract, will prove that fact.

Guillaume Latendresse: After being traded to the Wild for the much maligned Benoit Pouliot, Latendresse lit the world on fire. He earned the nickname “Best Trade Ever” with die hard Wild fans, raising hopes that he could be the real deal. After becoming a RFA on July 1st, Latendresse signed a two-year, $5 million deal. This gives him a chance to prove he is for real, and it gives the Wild the comfort of a low cap hit deal with short term if he does not pan out. The expectations are high as Latendresse lines up with the two best linemates he has ever had in Havlat and Cullen.

Josh Harding: The mess of a market for goaltenders that saw some of the best names go unsigned has left Harding in limbo. He inked a one-year deal, again, to sit on the bench and watch Niklas Backstrom play. Harding has shown flashes of brilliance and flashes of sheer incompetence in his tenure with the Wild. He has also shown the patience of Job, while his fate plays out in front of him. He has been on the trading block for years, and yet remains on the Wild roster. Whether the asking price is too high, or teams just flat out are not interested is yet to be determined, but the final decision is coming. Harding will be an UFA after this season, and he will not be back with the Wild. It will be interesting to see if anyone needs an inexpensive, largely untested goaltender next spring.

Addition by Subtraction:

Derek Boogaard: Hands down, the most intimidating man in the NHL right now. The Wild knew Boogaard was going to get big money on the open market, and they knew they were not going to match it. Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that if not for a clerical error, Boogaard would have been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline. Sure enough, Glen Sather and the Rangers came calling with a massive $1.65 million per year deal. The Wild passed on a final chance to match the offer, and the Boogeyman was off to Broadway.

While his loss will be felt in the locker room, and off the ice, Boogaard will be but a faint memory once the season starts. His 6:09 of Average Time On Ice is easily replaced, and with the additions of Nystrom, Madden, and Staubitz, the Wild have more than compensated for the loss of toughness, and added three players with better defensive abilities, and three players who have scored more than two goals since the lockout.

John Scott: The second of the so called “Twin Towers,” Scott never quite found a place on Todd Richards’ team. While he played in 51 games, his minutes were limited to Boogaardian levels, with just 8:36 per game, and a grand total of 3:44 minutes of PK time. More often than not, Scott’s role was as enforcer, not as defender, and as described above, the Wild have moved away from that type of game.

Owen Nolan: Here is one subtraction that is truly a subtraction. Nolan is the stereotypical grizzled NHL vet. He would just as soon punch you in the nose as score a goal, and both would leave you with a strong desire to ask for his autograph afterwards. He is far from the No. 1 overall pick he was in 1990, but he is far from done. Nolan contributed 33 points last season, despite spending most of his time on the third or fourth line. He will find a home, most likely with a contender such as Washington or San Jose.

Shane Hnidy: “The Sheriff” was solid in his role as a defensive defenseman, but left absolutely zero impression. Quite simply, Hnidy’s skill set, salary, plus his age have made him easily replaceable on the majority of NHL teams.

Wade Dubielewicz: Generally a backup goaltender for the AHL affiliate would not be a significant loss to note. In the case of Dubie, the situation is different. His fate was tied to the changing thinking in the goaltender market that has left Josh Harding stuck behind Niklas Backstrom, and has pinned Anton Khudobin in Houston. With top goaltending prospect Matthew Hackett coming to the Aeros, and the signing of German prospect Dennis Endras, there is simply no room left for Dubielewicz. If I had to venture a guess, he ends up back in the KHL in the upcoming season.

Overall:

Fletcher is doing the best he can with what he was handed. Could you create a masterpiece if you were handed three different types of feces and told to paint? He has replaced 14 players in two seasons, and no doubt would like to replace more if the opportunity presented itself. The task of transforming a team from a trap happy, defense only (not defense first as has been suggested) team into a hard forechecking, offensive first style of play is not something that is done overnight. He has added depth to the organization that has never been seen before. Trades of established players and prospects alike are no longer taboo subjects if the trade presents a chance to improve the team.