Predators reaffirm Poile's commitment to Nashville

When the Minnesota Wild cut loose GM Doug Risebrough earlier today, speculation naturally headed in the direction of Nashville Predators GM David Poile; given his long and successful partnership with Wild owner Craig Leipold, might Poile be recruited up to Minnesota?

This afternoon over at the city at The Tennessean, John Glennon gets clarification from the team that Poile isn't going anywhere:

Poile couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Thursday, but a Predators spokesperson said Poile was "committed to Nashville and committed to building this team into a Stanley Cup contender.’

In even better news, it doesn't look like we have to worry about Poile leaving to Preds to work for Leipold regardless:

And last summer The Tennessean reported there was a provision in the new ownership’s purchase agreement prohibiting Leipold from having any conversations with Poile "regarding any future employment or offer, directly or indirectly, to Mr. Poile (regarding) any employment opportunity with another NHL franchise other than the Predators.’’

Good news, indeed. Now let's settle in and enjoy the playoffs...

UPDATE: After striking down the Poile rumors, Glennon takes the next logical step and wonders if assistant GM Paul Fenton might make a suitable candidate for the Minnesota job. That would certainly jive with Mirtle's observation that assistants taking a step up have been successful lately.