While Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t decided on whether or not he’ll agree to be traded before the March 21st trade deadline, it appears he has made a decision in terms of his preference for free agency in the summer. In particular, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times relays, the 37-year-old wants to avoid hitting the market altogether with his preference next season being either to sign with Chicago or re-sign with whoever winds up acquiring him. It’s worth noting that a condition can’t be placed on a draft pick regarding whether the player signs an extension or not – it used to be allowed but it was taken out in the last CBA. Accordingly, if Fleury winds up being amenable to a move, it wouldn’t be surprising if the acquiring team winds up with a window to speak with him about an extension before the trade is made official.
More from Chicago:
- Pope reports in the same column that the Ducks have been interested in winger Dominik Kubalik and that the 26-year-old is no longer viewed by the organization as part of their future. Kubalik is owed a $4MM qualifying offer and with 11 goals and 10 assists in 59 games this season, it would be hard to justify tendering that offer although there’s nothing stopping GM Kyle Davidson from approaching him about signing a cheaper deal to stay in Chicago; it stands to reason that Anaheim would be interested in signing him for less as well. Pope also lists the Oilers as a team that has been linked to him although making the cap work would be a lot more challenging for them than it would for Anaheim.
- The Predators are among the teams to inquire about center Ryan Carpenter, Pope reports. The 31-year-old has just three goals and seven assists this season but is averaging just over two hits per game while winning more than 52% of his faceoffs. For a team looking to add checking depth for the postseason, the pending unrestricted free agent would fit the bill and with a $1MM AAV, he’d be affordable for most teams.
Fleury ($1M retained)+ Connor Murphy + Kubalik (1/2 retained) for Mrazek + Nylander
Nylander won’t be going anywhere at the deadline. The only way anyone of the core gets dealt is in the offseason if they get eliminated in the first round again.
Lets see. A Hall of Fame Goalie, A solid top 4 D-Man and a promising young wing, For a loser Goalie and an Old Over the hill guy for a rebuilding team. Yeah sure I could see that. If I smoked as much crack as you do. WOW. Johnny Z = Rehab. If they’re saying Kubalik is too old for a rebuild, Then what are Mrazek and Nylander? I can’t say WOW loud enough.
This trade would never happen but calling Nylander an old over the hill guy is just plain stupid. He’s 25 years old.
He is if Kubalik is too old for a rebuild. At least according to the geniuses who write and comment for this space.
We don’t want him. We just got rid of his loser brother. For Sam Lafferty. Addition by subtraction.
HA !
Fleury to NYR.. would be perfect as the backup
Sure because that’s what he’s looking to be. A caddy.