According to multiple sources, general manager Bill Guerin has once again investigated the prices of goaltenders around the NHL and has zeroed in on potentially acquiring the Blackhawks future Hall of Fame goaltender in advance of Monday’s 2 p.m. trade deadline. Remember, prior to signing Cam Talbot to a three-year contract in 2020, the Wild attempted to acquire Fleury from the Golden Knights.
While a trade couldn’t be consummated at the time, it’s believed Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, was willing to waive his no-trade clause to come to Minnesota then and is willing to do so again. The Blackhawks reportedly want a first-round pick for Fleury, but Guerin has been vocal about not wanting to trade his 2022 first-rounder. A second would likely be something he’d part with.
I assume Minny would need to include Talbot in the trade. His non- expiring contract likely means they would have to part with that first round pick.
That would make some sense for both sides; MIN needs to cut costs everywhere possible for the next 3 years, so running Kahkonen and a cheap 1B makes sense.
CHI doesn't have any NHL goalies under contract next year, so Talbot would be as good as anything.
I'll predict something like MIN 1st + 3rd + Talbot for Fleury + CHI 2nd
If the Wild get Flower, they'll be finishing top 3 in the Central and be staying in that division for the first 2 rounds. They'll be Colorado's problem.
If the Wild get Flower, they'll be finishing top 3 in the Central and be staying in that division for the first 2 rounds. They'll be Colorado's problem.
I don't know about that. The Predators, Wild, and Blues are 1 point from each other. The Wild could easily finish in 7th or 8th place in the western conf.
I don't know about that. The Predators, Wild, and Blues are 1 point from each other. The Wild could easily finish in 7th or 8th place in the western conf.
STL +16
WLD +16
NAS +14
The loser of that race gets a wild card, and the top 2 finish 2nd and 3rd in the division. Add Fleury to the Wild roster and I think it's a pretty good bet that they get one of those top 2 spots.
There's a couple of sneaky good teams flying under the radar in the West and Minnesota is one of them. They'd be a significantly better team with a motivated MAF.
Minnesota had a really high shooting percentage early in the season that has started to normalize a bit. They're still second in the NHL and 4th in goals for.
They strike me as a team that Daryl Sutter would say is outscoring other teams to win games as opposed to out checking them. They're special teams are pretty average to slightly below average and they are 19th in the league in goals against.
Better goaltending would no doubt help them out, as this last 21 games where they are 10-10-1 has seen their goaltending really struggle at times. 40 games into the season they were a top 4 record in the NHL and as close to Colorado as anyone. Now they're in a 3 team battle with the Blues and Preds to determine who'll finish 2-3 in the Division and who ends up as a Wild Card team. Adding Fleury would seem to be a pretty big boost for them as they are the team with a game in hand so if they did win it, they would end up being the 2nd place team in the Division. But if they keep playing the way they have they might come closer to missing the playoffs than anyone could have imagined at the half way mark.
__________________ "Some guys like old balls"
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If MIN ends up as WC1 then it means they've slipped a bit down the stretch (or NAS has gone on a heater). I'm sure there must be some, but I can't think of any examples where a TDL goalie trade worked out particularly well.
I've always thought there are a lot of subtle nuances that can make a big difference for goalies, like developing an intuitive sense of what your teammates tend to do (especially D-men), both in front of you and when trying to play the puck to them.
Maybe he can catch up on all that in ~15 games, but I don't think he makes them any scarier than NAS or STL.
It's not often that teams go out and change a starting goaltender at or around the Deadline.
Roloson is the one guy that I can remember that lead a team anywhere in the playoffs. But he was 8-7-4 down the stretch for the Oilers to get into the playoffs.
Other than him I remember the Blues bringing in Ryan Miller only to lose to the Blackhawks in the first round and pretty much nothing else.
It's pretty rare for a team to change out the starting goaltender this late in the season.
__________________ "Some guys like old balls"
Patriots QB Tom Brady
Wild acquire MA Fleury (50% retained) for a 2nd that can become a 1st
