Fleury’s play makes him a wanted man
Team appears to have no interest in trading goalie
Marc-andre Fleury’s renaissance is one of the NHL’S hottest storylines and has sparked a new round of talk about his future.
But the Golden Knights appear to have no interest in moving the 36-year-old goaltender.
For the second time in the past week, a report surfaced indicating that Fleury is not an option for teams looking to upgrade in net.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman noted in his weekly
“31 Thoughts” column that he thought Fleury was not available in a trade.
That came on the heels of Bob Mckenzie’s report Feb. 10 during an NBC Sports Network broadcast that the Pittsburgh Penguins made repeated efforts to reacquire Fleury and were told no.
The most recent rejection from the Knights, according to Mckenzie, came in the weeks before the Penguins hired Ron Hextall as general manager and Brian Burke as president of hockey operations on Feb. 9.
It’s widely known the Knights shopped Fleury in the offseason after committing to Robin Lehner for five years and $25 million.
The sides reconciled to make a run at the Stanley Cup, giving the Knights a $12 million one-two punch in goal.
But Fleury has outperformed Lehner, which adds to the intrigue.
Fleury adjusted to play deeper in his crease and ranks in the top four of the league in goalsagainst average (1.56) and save percentage (.937). His goals saved above average (6.87) is sixth overall, according to Hockeyreference.com.
Fleury has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his nine appearances, including two shutouts. The NHL named him its second star for the week ending Feb. 14.
Lehner hasn’t played since Feb. 7 because of an upper-body injury and is 3-1-1 with a 2.96 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage.
Once Lehner returns, coach Pete Deboer must decide whether to alternate starts or ride Fleury until he cools down.
“Marc-andre, to his credit, came back to camp this year and instead of just submitting to being the backup, he’s been outstanding since training camp and deserves to be in there every night right now,” Deboer said Wednesday during an interview on “The Jim Rome Show.”
The NHL trade deadline is April 12, and based on the recent rumblings, Fleury is expected to stay put.
If that’s the case, the Knights would have to revisit their goaltending situation in the offseason. Fleury’s plunge in the fountain of youth certainly doesn’t hurt his value.
Deboer confirms COVID
During his interview with
Rome, Deboer confirmed that he was one of three members of the Knights’ coaching staff who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Deboer and his assistants went into isolation starting Jan. 26, and he was cleared from the NHL protocol Feb. 5 before a game against Los Angeles.
Assistant coach Ryan Craig was cleared the day before, and assistant coach Ryan Mcgill returned Feb.6.
“We were down and out for a couple weeks, in quarantine and dealing with some symptoms,” Deboer said. “Thankfully we all got through the other side of it healthy.”
Lehner adds to collection
With all the talk about gold helmets lately, Lehner’s new reverse retro mask slipped under the radar.
Swedish artist David Gunnarsson posted a video of the bucket, which features the Knights’ secondary logo on the front and the growling pandas designed by Las Vegas artist Juan Muniz on each side.
The helmet includes the #Samehere hashtag from the global mental health awareness movement that Lehner supports.
Lehner previously showed off his reverse retro equipment setup, which has crossed swords and the playing card suits on the pads.