Among the many players that are eligible to sign contract extensions next month is Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. He wasted little time making his preference known, telling reporters, including Jesse Granger of the Las Vegas Sun, that he’s hoping to stick around beyond next season:
“Vegas has given me this opportunity to do what I love, and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. Hopefully I can finish my career here.”
The 33-year-old will enter the final year of his contract in 2018-19 with a $5.75MM cap charge. His first season with the Golden Knights was certainly a memorable one as he posted a 2.24 GAA and a .927 SV% in 46 regular season games while putting up identical numbers in 20 postseason starts. If he can put up comparable numbers next season, Fleury may be lining himself up for a nice raise on his next deal.
Elsewhere around the league:
- There has been plenty of discussion surrounding Capitals head coach Barry Trotz who is without a contract for next season. Speaking following their win on Thursday, GM Brian MacLellan stated that Trotz wanted to be back, then he would be back. Trotz told reporters, including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, that he “absolutely” sees a future for himself in Washington. He plans to take a couple of days to enjoy the Stanley Cup victory and then start discussing a new deal. One team that will certainly be keeping an eye on how talks go is the Islanders who now have a head coaching vacancy of their own to fill.
- Following a report from Thursday that suggested that the Oilers were looking to move on from winger Milan Lucic, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal believes that there may be a taker for him around the league, even if it does require some sort of inducement to get someone to take the 30-year-old. He points out that there are always teams who value size and grit and the success of Washington’s Tom Wilson in the postseason certainly shows that there is still a place for those types of players in the league. If a trade involving Lucic was to happen, it seems reasonable to think that it would occur after July 1st as he is due a $3.5MM signing bonus on that date.
Again, Lucic has a no-movement clause. He can’t just be traded to any team. The Oilers have to find a taker for Lucic’s bad contract that Lucic would be willing to go to. Sorry, that complicates things. Even if Lucic is receptive to leaving Edmonton like Staples says, it does not mean he will approve a trade to any team. He will probably want to go to a team that he believes has a chance to win. Those teams may not have the cap room to add him. That limits the possible destinations.
If he wants to go home to Vancouver maybe the Canucks would try and get rid of their dirty laundry as well in Eriksson. Would be a decent challenge trade.
Louie Eriksson makes Lucic look like Crosby. As bad as the Oilers want to be rid of Lucic, Eriksson is even worse