Three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury is being traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Minnesota Wild, Sportsnet can confirm.
Chicago is receiving a conditional second-round draft pick, which can become a first if Minnesota advances to the Western Conference Final and Fleury wins four or more games within the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blackhawks will also retain 50 per cent of Fleury’s remaining salary.
The reigning Vezina and Jennings Trophy recipient, and the third-winningest goaltender in NHL history, Fleury has been the subject of trade rumours for much of the season, as the Blackhawks struggled.
In addition to the modified no-move clause in his contract, as Emily Sadler wrote earlier, an agreement with the Blackhawks was put in place upon Fleury’s arrival in Chicago over the off-season. After arriving in Chicago, then-GM Stan Bowman agreed Fleury wouldn’t be moved without his approval, and new GM Kyle Davidson made it clear early in March he’d keep that promise.
“If I move, I would love a chance to win,” Marc-Andre Fleury, 37, told reporters last month. “That’s what I play for, and that’s what I love. But it’s still a big ‘if’ at this point.”
Fleury, a pending unrestricted free agent whose 2021-22 cap hit was $7 million ($6 million in salary owed), is reunited with Wild GM Bill Guerin, a former teammate and front office member of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Fleury and Guerin won a Stanley Cup together in 2009.
Other teams rumoured to be interested in obtaining Fleury included the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs.
In a corresponding move, the Wild traded fellow netminder Kaapo Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks for pending RFA defenceman Jacob Middleton.
Fleury went 19-21-5 with a .908 save percentage, 2.95 GAA and four shutouts during his time with the Blackhawks.
He surrendered five goals on 31 shots in Sunday’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets. On one of the goals, Fleury lost his catching glove and at one point lunged at the puck with his bare hand but missed, surely a startling moment for any GM looking to trade for him.
Fleury is 90-70 in 160 career post-season starts, ranking fourth all-time in wins. He is two playoff wins away from tying Grant Fuhr for third place.
The Wild sit one point behind the St. Louis Blues for second place in the Central Division with a game in game heading into Monday’s action.
Minnesota has qualified for the post-season in all but one season since the 2012 lockout but only advanced beyond the first round once during that stretch and haven’t won a series since 2015.
Blackhawks trade Marc-Andre Fleury to Wild for draft pick
Source: Pinas Ko Mahal
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