Could next season Marc-Andre Fleury‘s last?
Jessi Pierce of NHL.com: Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is entering the final year of his contract. He’ll be 39 years old when his deal expires and Fleury is unsure if he’ll play beyond that.
“I have … (thought about retiring),” Fleury said Monday. “Especially the last, I had to move a few times, move to Vegas, then Chicago, here. I don’t want to keep moving the kids around and stuff right? Also, I don’t’ know. Getting older, it’s tough.
“Obviously, I’ll think about it after next season, right? But that could be it.”
Fleury is seven wins by Patrick Roy‘s 551, who is second behind Martin Brodeur‘s 691 wins. Fleury is also 15 games away from 1,000. Brodeur is the leader in games played with 1,266, then Roberto Luongo at 1,044 and Roy at 1,029.
Micheal Russo: Even if his role is reduced to a more backup role as opposed to a 1A/1B tandem, Fleury’s fine with that: “I’m tired of moving. I’m not going anywhere,”
Filip Gustavsson and other Wild free agents
Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic: The Minnesota Wild will have around $10.15 million in salary cap space next season as their dead cap space increases to $14.7 million.
The Wild’s top priority should be re-signing pending RFA goaltender Filip Gustavsson after his 22-9-7 season with a 2.10 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Would he get an offer sheet from someone? Would they be able to fit in a three-year deal or could they go to arbitration?
Before the start of the playoffs, the Wild were interested in re-signing Ryan Reaves and Marcus Johansson or Gustav Nyquist (they signed Johansson yesterday to a two-year deal). Re-signing RFA Brandon Duhaime should be a priority, and Sam Steel could be re-signed if the price is cheap,
UFAs Matt Dumba, John Klingberg and Oskar Sundqvist won’t be back. Defenseman Calen Addison (RFA) could be moved, and maybe Jon Merrill ($1.2 million) or Alex Goligoski ($2 million) as well to create some more cap space. Would Marc-Andre Fleury consider going back to Pittsburgh?
The Wild could use another top center, which aren’t easy to find/acquire. Maybe Marco Rossi transforms in the offseason or if they were to trade Gustavsson.