Wild could approach Marc-André Fleury about waiving no-movement clause

The Wild have been one of the NHL's most disappointing teams this season. While their latest 5-0 win over the Islanders kept their record from slipping further, they remain two games below .500 and sit eight points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. 

In the likely event that general manager Bill Guerin’s prediction of a roaring turnaround doesn’t come to fruition, the Wild could approach goaltender Marc-André Fleury about waiving his no-movement clause for a deadline trade, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun confirms in a piece for The Athletic.

Fleury, 39, signed a two-year, $7M extension with the Wild in July 2022. He chose to remain in the State of Hockey after they brought him in from the struggling Blackhawks near the 2022 trade deadline, splitting duties down the stretch with then-tandem partner Cam Talbot before assuming the starting role in their first-round loss to the Blues.

In his 79 regular-season appearances with the Wild, Fleury has provided numbers expected from a decent veteran backup with a .905 SV%, 2.87 GAA, three shutouts and 0.1 goals saved above average with a 41-27-7 record. 

However, after posting above-average numbers last season, this one has been a struggle. His SV% is down to .897, and he’s conceded 4.2 goals above average in 22 appearances (19 starts).

He isn’t the only Minnesota netminder having a tough season. After last season’s breakout campaign that earned him some season-ending All-Star votes, 25-year-old Filip Gustavsson’s stat line is in the same mediocre territory as Fleury’s. 

Things looked to be trending upward during a December hot streak, but he’s come crashing down to Earth during the Wild’s recent run of poor results. In his last five starts, Gustavsson has a 2-3-0 record and .854 SV%, although he’s only played once since missing seven games with a lower-body injury.

However, only Fleury is a pending UFA, while Gustavsson is beginning a three-year, $11.25M deal signed following an arbitration filing last summer. As such, the veteran is on the trade block over the youngster, and as LeBrun reports, “a couple of teams” will reach out to Guerin soon to gauge his availability and cost. What’s not sure is if Fleury, who just moved into second place on the NHL’s all-time wins list, will consent to a deal.

LeBrun expects playing time to be Fleury’s primary factor in considering a move. With three Stanley Cups under his belt, he’s not ring-chasing in what could be his final season. However, he may be interested in closing out his career by playing a starting or 1A role on a contender with significant issues in the crease.

In any event, this would likely be a money-in, money-out trade. Any contender pressing to acquire Fleury will be in the same tight salary cap situation as the Wild, albeit for different reasons. No other team has more money allocated toward dead cap than Minnesota, whose buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter still total a $14.74M penalty through next season.

Two bona fide contenders with undefined netminding situations come to mind: the Oilers and Hurricanes. The goaltending looks to be figuring itself out in Edmonton without outside help, though — Stuart Skinner has a .930 SV% in his last 17 games and is now up to a .903 SV% on the season after a horrid start.

Things haven’t improved much for Carolina, however. 24-year-old Pyotr Kochetkov’s .900 SV% in 23 games is serviceable, but he’s now out of the lineup after sustaining a concussion last Thursday against the Ducks. 

Veteran Antti Raanta’s cringeworthy .868 SV% is enough to sink the team’s chances of winning just one round, no matter how well they play in front of him, and he carries a documented injury risk of his own.

Given the parameters outlined by LeBrun, it’s hard to find a more evident fit for Fleury than in Raleigh. The team is skilled enough in the shot-suppression department that average play from the veteran should be enough to get them over the hump, especially at the rate that offensive stars Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov are producing this season.

LeBrun bandies a trio of other potentially playoff-bound teams that could have an interest — the Maple Leafs, Devils and Avalanche. The Devils are no playoff lock at this stage, though, and Fleury would have a more difficult path to playing time in Colorado and Toronto.