According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has waived his no-movement clause and will be exposed in the upcoming expansion draft. Lavoie reports that the goaltender actually accepted a request waive it in February, before the trade deadline had passed in the NHL. It has long been expected that the Penguins had worked out an agreement with Fleury, since they otherwise risked losing Matt Murray to the Golden Knights. 
This news comes less than 24 hours after Fleury won his second straight Stanley Cup and third of his career with the Penguins. Though he did not play in the clinching game either of the past two seasons, his play in the first few rounds of this year’s run was outstanding and an integral part of the team’s Cup pursuit. After Murray was injured in warm up of the first game, Fleury stepped in and posted a .924 save percentage in 15 games, including two shutouts. His time in Pittsburgh looks likely to come to an end after 691 regular season and 115 playoff contests with a 437-266-68 combined record.
At 32, Fleury has two seasons remaining on his current contract at an annual salary of $5.75MM. Though he could easily play those two seasons out as the starting goaltender for the Golden Knights, some—including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet—think that he may be flipped to another team after the draft. Fleury has previously been linked as a potential target for the Calgary Flames, who will be looking for a new goaltender this summer to improve their chances in the post season. It would be hard to imagine Vegas making the playoffs in the next two seasons, making Fleury’s impact in Sin City minimal.
Until the official selections are released, there is no guarantee that Vegas will even take Fleury. Though he does seem like a solid asset to add through the draft, the Penguins have several other interesting names who will be left unprotected. As our Seth Lawrence examined in the Penguins’ Expansion Primer, players like Ian Cole and Bryan Rust are at risk of being exposed and also provide solid value for the Golden Knights. It’s interesting to note that according to Lavoie, Fleury waived it only for purposes of the draft and Vegas, so he still holds the clause in respect to other teams around the league. That means he (as of now) still can’t be traded prior to the draft in order to extract some value for the Penguins.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
No doubt he’ll get a chance to start somewhere else. The writing was on the wall and he realized it. Classy
If he’s not selected by LV which I doubt he will then I believe he will be bought out by the Pens. Classy move by MAF last night when he skated with the cup and then passed it to Murray. Like a changing of the guard. Best of luck MAF a true classy team player.
If LV does select him I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s with the intention of flipping him to a team for a lower cost than the Pens were seeking.
Glad he’s saved us from losing every last asset with value to our name.
Class act wish him the best
Can’t see why Knights wouldn’t want him. Still a pretty good little goalie, good guy to have around as well.
Because there’s other quality goalies available that will be cheaper and could stay in LV for years to come, not just two years.