Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 590 in Toronto recently to provide some updates on a few players and the trade market in general. Here are some of the highlights; transcription courtesy of FanRag’s Chris Nichols.
Marc-Andre Fleury (Penguins)
Friedman, like many others, expects that Fleury’s days with Pittsburgh are close to being over. The question at this point is whether they’ll make an in-season move or keep him around for what they expect to be another lengthy postseason run. If they were to keep Fleury, they’d have the luxury of having two starting goaltenders which could come in handy in case of injury, which is how Murray wound up with the number one job in the playoffs.
He also points out Fleury’s 12-team no trade clause as a potential obstacle. However, Friedman believes that when the time comes to make a trade that they’ll check in with the goaltender to make sure he’s happy with his eventual new destination. This is his 13th career season, all with the Penguins after being the first overall pick in 2003 so they’ll want to try to do right by their longest-tenured player.
One other potential obstacle that Friedman didn’t mention is Fleury’s struggles so far this season. He has not adapted particularly well to not being the full-fledged starter and has a GAA of 3.25 and a SV% of .905, both well below league average. For teams that might be looking at him as an in-season option, those numbers certainly won’t help his value and there are other goaltenders already currently available.
Jacob Trouba (Jets)
Friedman noted that Toronto is among the teams that have kept tabs on Winnipeg blueliner Jacob Trouba. However, the Leafs, like several other Canadian teams, have some doubts regarding Trouba’s willingness to play in a Canadian market long-term.
Trouba rescinded his trade request when he signed a two year, $6MM bridge deal back in early November. However, many still think he will be dealt by the time that the contract expires. The Jets have a pair of big money, higher end blueliners on the right side in Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers and Trouba has stated his preference is to play on his natural side.
Interestingly enough, Friedman floated out a suggestion that a deal involving Trouba and Fleury could make sense for both sides with the Penguins needing some help on the back end while the Jets’ goaltending duo of youngsters Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson have struggled with consistency throughout the season.
Trade Market
Friedman doubled down on his comments earlier this week about the trade market being paralyzed. He noted that teams are still talking regularly but one GM told him that no one seems ready to do anything yet. With so many teams having limited cap space, it’s likely that the bulk of the notable trades this season will come closer to the trade deadline.