The Blackhawks “Could Be In Play” for Vegas Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury
Excuse me, what?
Tucked into his latest article for The Athletic, Scott Powers is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks, who just traded Duncan Keith, may not be done with trades this offseason. And it’s not the one you might expect.
According to a league source, the Blackhawks could be in play for Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Fleury is coming off one of the best year’s of his career at the age of 36-years-old. He posted a .928 save-percentage and a 1.98 GAA in 36 appearances with the Golden Knights this season, including 16 appearances in the postseason with a .918 save-percentage and a 2.02 GAA. Fleury won the Vezina as the NHL’s top goaltender this season over Andrei Vasilevskiy and Philipp Grubauer.
Turning 37 in November, Fleury has one year left on his current deal with the Golden Knights at a $7M AAV cap hit. His deal also includes a ten-team no-trade clause as well.
Chicago has the cap space to fit a deal like that, especially since they moved Duncan Keith’s $5.538M cap hit completely. But with a trio of “maybes” in net and bigger fish to fry with their defensive rotation, adding an aging Fleury doesn’t sound like the best way to spend money and assets. Besides, the Blackhawks had Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner during the 2019-20 season, both of which stood on their heads for Chicago, and they needed modified playoff standings to get into the postseason.
Lankinen stepped up and looked competent in the NHL last season and I think putting a Marc-Andre Fleury-sized band-aid on the goaltending position doesn’t get the Blackhawks back to where they want to be in the league.
