It would be (very) surprising to see Marc-André Fleury traded by March 8

Even at the age of 39, good old Marc-André Fleury is still rolling in the NHL. The Minnesota Wild goaltender continues to write his name in the league’s history books, having recently surpassed Patrick Roy in career regular-season wins.

The Penguins recently honoured their former goaltender with a magnificent painting by Sidney Crosby.

That being said, the Wild are currently five points out of the playoff picture, and with the race in the West fairly tight, one wonders if the Quebecer won’t be traded between now and the March 8 trade deadline.

At his age, he might want to join a contending team, as he has a no-movement clause.

However, in an interview with JiC, Fleury was quite clear: he has no intention of leaving the Wild between now and the trade deadline.

Fleury says he wants to be part of “his club” in Minnesota, and wants to help the Wild make the playoffs. He’s fine where he is right now, and he doesn’t sound like a guy who wants to move again.

And at his age, that’s understandable: he’s got a family and probably doesn’t want to upset everyone’s daily routine.

So it would be very surprising to see Fleury traded between now and March 8, especially since he has the final say on any transaction involving him.

And that opens the door to teams wanting to sell goalies… including the Habs.

If a club wants reinforcements in front of the net, Jacob Markstrom is one name that comes up, but after that, the market seems rather nebulous. With Fleury clearly no longer an option, maybe a guy like Jake Allen will be a little more in demand.

Then again, he’ll have to help himself out by playing better, but that’s another story.

We’ll see what happens over the next few weeks, but don’t expect Fleury to leave the Wild. That could possibly change if the club plummets in the standings over the next month, but it’s pretty unlikely.

It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the other goalkeepers up for sale.

Round-up

– Sean Couturier becomes Flyers captain.

– News on the Coyotes situation.

– What do you think?

Linus Ullmark has been fined the maximum for his high stick on Michael Eyssimont.

Thoughts on the decision? pic.twitter.com/eIgGlKQFj2

– BarDown (@BarDown) February 14, 2024