Since Chuck Fletcher was hired as general manager in 2009, the Wild’s biggest secret has always been his contract status.



With Fletcher in his ninth season at the helm, none of Fletcher’s contract extensions has ever been announced by Craig Leipold, a purposeful decision by the owner in part so nobody can speculate on the future of the hockey operations chief Leipold has long shown unbridled commitment and trust to.



In May, the last time a certain local scribe asked him how long Fletcher had remaining on his contract (until Wednesday, that is), Leipold quipped, “It’s not soon enough that I need to worry about it.”



That’s no longer true.



According to a half-dozen well-placed team and league sources queried over the past several weeks, The Athletic is confident in reporting that Fletcher is working in the final year of his contract.



On Wednesday morning, The Athletic coincidentally published a column by...