Rumor: MAF back to Pittsburgh?
- Thread starter LadyStanley
- Start date
Marc-Andre Fleury, Dominik Simon and what we’re hearing on Penguins free-agency – The Athletic
2. Fleury’s preference is to start for his next club, which is why Minnesota and Carolina emerged as early preferred landing spots. However, Fleury would make an exception to again play in Pittsburgh, and he has expressed a fondness for Jarry to several close friends.
5. Several former Penguins teammates have reached out to Fleury in recent weeks to gauge his interest in returning to Pittsburgh. Fleury told those players he would welcome a return and that finding a place where his wife is comfortable raising their three children is a top priority. Though they loved Las Vegas and are doing research on other cities where Fleury believes he could land, Fleury has repeatedly referred to Pittsburgh “as home for us” in messages with former teammates.
6. There is “a lot of interest in Fleury,” multiple league sources said. However, people around the NHL believe the Vegas-Fleury relationship has soured to the point that Golden Knights are finding it difficult to trade him. Fleury’s contract contains a clause that allows him to block a trade to 10 teams, and it is believed he can update that list on the first day of the new league year, which is Friday. Fleury wants to trust the management of his next team, one league source said. Though they picked Murray over him a few years ago, Fleury still holds Rutherford and coach Mike Sullivan in high regard — and any misgivings would have been alleviated by his ties to Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux and captain Sidney Crosby.
7. Lastly, neither Fleury nor the Penguins would want to break up for a second time. Fleury would want an extension that guaranteed that he would finish his career in Pittsburgh and the Penguins would require his willingness to be paid like a No. 2 goalie on that contract, according to multiple league sources. The possibility of a 2021-22 schedule also being truncated because of a late start to next season is also a factor in the Penguins’ interest in Fleury.
8. To sign Alex Pietrangelo in free agency, Vegas must make moves to clear cap space. Trading Fleury would be one of those moves.
Alex Pietrangelo to Vegas: Golden Knights trade Nate Schmidt to sign top free agent – The Athletic
After the Schmidt trade, the Pietrangelo signing leaves Vegas $124,105 over the cap ceiling. It appears the Golden Knights are attempting to move veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury ($7 million salary cap hit), and now they could get under the $81.5 million cap even if they are not able to move Fleury without retaining any salary. Bumping up AHL goaltender Oscar Dansk and his $700,000 cap hit to the backup role behind Robin Lehner would give Vegas a significant cap savings next season.
The Golden Knights still have plenty of work this offseason, but this signing was the centerpiece. It will reshape the way this team looks on the ice this upcoming season and bolsters their chances for another deep playoff run with a bonafide star defenseman.
2. Fleury’s preference is to start for his next club, which is why Minnesota and Carolina emerged as early preferred landing spots. However, Fleury would make an exception to again play in Pittsburgh, and he has expressed a fondness for Jarry to several close friends.
5. Several former Penguins teammates have reached out to Fleury in recent weeks to gauge his interest in returning to Pittsburgh. Fleury told those players he would welcome a return and that finding a place where his wife is comfortable raising their three children is a top priority. Though they loved Las Vegas and are doing research on other cities where Fleury believes he could land, Fleury has repeatedly referred to Pittsburgh “as home for us” in messages with former teammates.
6. There is “a lot of interest in Fleury,” multiple league sources said. However, people around the NHL believe the Vegas-Fleury relationship has soured to the point that Golden Knights are finding it difficult to trade him. Fleury’s contract contains a clause that allows him to block a trade to 10 teams, and it is believed he can update that list on the first day of the new league year, which is Friday. Fleury wants to trust the management of his next team, one league source said. Though they picked Murray over him a few years ago, Fleury still holds Rutherford and coach Mike Sullivan in high regard — and any misgivings would have been alleviated by his ties to Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux and captain Sidney Crosby.
7. Lastly, neither Fleury nor the Penguins would want to break up for a second time. Fleury would want an extension that guaranteed that he would finish his career in Pittsburgh and the Penguins would require his willingness to be paid like a No. 2 goalie on that contract, according to multiple league sources. The possibility of a 2021-22 schedule also being truncated because of a late start to next season is also a factor in the Penguins’ interest in Fleury.
8. To sign Alex Pietrangelo in free agency, Vegas must make moves to clear cap space. Trading Fleury would be one of those moves.
Alex Pietrangelo to Vegas: Golden Knights trade Nate Schmidt to sign top free agent – The Athletic
After the Schmidt trade, the Pietrangelo signing leaves Vegas $124,105 over the cap ceiling. It appears the Golden Knights are attempting to move veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury ($7 million salary cap hit), and now they could get under the $81.5 million cap even if they are not able to move Fleury without retaining any salary. Bumping up AHL goaltender Oscar Dansk and his $700,000 cap hit to the backup role behind Robin Lehner would give Vegas a significant cap savings next season.
The Golden Knights still have plenty of work this offseason, but this signing was the centerpiece. It will reshape the way this team looks on the ice this upcoming season and bolsters their chances for another deep playoff run with a bonafide star defenseman.
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CupInSIX
My cap runneth over
Super Cake
Registered User
- Jun 24, 2013
- 30,995
- 6,420
This team man. 
12 million to goaltending.
Good luck trying to find improvements at the deadline if need be.
12 million to goaltending.
Good luck trying to find improvements at the deadline if need be.
The Duck Knight
Henry, you're our only hope!
Anyone other than Holden or Reaves is 100% the wrong answer, but I'm doubting Mcrimmon's mental capacity at this point so probably Tuch.
Our pregame show is going to be a MAF vs Lehner sword fight to decide who starts
CupInSIX
My cap runneth over
With Holden or Reaves moved they'd still only be able to ice a 21 man roster
I get the feeling they might trade Marchessault and sign Haula
That's decent enough, probably can have a twenty man roster for over a third of the time with the AHL in Henderson. Would mean they could have 22 for around a quarter of the year at least.
But I still think they could trade a forward and sign Haula as a replacement. Give us more than enough room.
But how will we trade Fleury next season without retaining and giving a pick? Will we buy him out then? No one will want him a year older after being a backup for a season after a down year.
The Duck Knight
Henry, you're our only hope!
CupInSIX
My cap runneth over
Hopefully there's a Martinez extension being worked on (unless they trade him too!) but yeah I guess they should have the cap next year.
*Martinez of course asking for a full NTC
CupInSIX
My cap runneth over
The Duck Knight
Henry, you're our only hope!
CupInSIX
My cap runneth over
Gourde also fills the feisty net front presence plus can play C until Glass/Krebs are ready for prime time
The Duck Knight
Henry, you're our only hope!
Knightmare
VGK fan since the 70’s
I still believe McGM’s are trying to save face here.
Now: “We’re going with Robin and Flower”
Soon: “We really liked the idea of having both goalies but Fleury talked to us and expressed he really wanted to finish his career in Pittsburgh so we felt we owed him that and granted him this trade.”
Now: “We’re going with Robin and Flower”
Soon: “We really liked the idea of having both goalies but Fleury talked to us and expressed he really wanted to finish his career in Pittsburgh so we felt we owed him that and granted him this trade.”
LadyStanley
Registered User
CupInSIX
My cap runneth over
Tampa is in almost as bad a spot as Vegas was* today. If they have to retain 750k on Gourde and get him to waive for Vegas they might do it.
*put themselves in
As a fan you just have to accept nonsense from the front office and the coaches, but boy this is really wearing me thin. Give away two perfectly good veterans for almost nothing to sign a market priced free agent and then not let go of their aging legend in goal. I mean if we did a contest of who would be on this team opening night I bet we would have zero correct entries.
Super Cake
Registered User
- Jun 24, 2013
- 30,995
- 6,420
Fluery would be fine if he was making about 2 million less.
But then i am one of those people who believe that you should not be giving goalies big contracts.
theslatcher
Registered User
They both just signed extensions, you don't trade guys you just signed and haven't played a game on their new contract. Why did we sign Holden to that contract, even? Why, oh, why?
What did everyone expect them to say: we tried as hard as we could to trade MAF but there were no takers so we are stuck with him?
Of course they will go with the ‘we wanted a good tandem’ route and I’m sure most casual VGK fans (those with no conception of a salary cap) will be overjoyed MAF didn’t get traded.
But really it is management’s fault for handing out these overpriced contracts. Fleury’s contract was kind of ridiculous when it was signed and it is utterly absurd now. You now have a younger and more talented goalie who was willing to take 2 million AAV less than Fleury.
And look at Schmidt. A big reason why you could only get a 3rd is that he is also overpaid. If he was now a UFA, nobody is giving him a contract for 6 million a year.
I remember posting during the draft to just bite the bullet and give up your 1st and 2nd to end the Fleury saga ASAP. But they really had to get too cute and think they could finesse everything to their advantage.
I am not happy and think this will haunt us during the season. It is a toxic situation no matter how much management tries to play it down. Do you really want your less talented backup making more money than your starter? Are we just to assume MAF and Walsh are totally over the drama and won’t pull more stunts?
Of course they will go with the ‘we wanted a good tandem’ route and I’m sure most casual VGK fans (those with no conception of a salary cap) will be overjoyed MAF didn’t get traded.
But really it is management’s fault for handing out these overpriced contracts. Fleury’s contract was kind of ridiculous when it was signed and it is utterly absurd now. You now have a younger and more talented goalie who was willing to take 2 million AAV less than Fleury.
And look at Schmidt. A big reason why you could only get a 3rd is that he is also overpaid. If he was now a UFA, nobody is giving him a contract for 6 million a year.
I remember posting during the draft to just bite the bullet and give up your 1st and 2nd to end the Fleury saga ASAP. But they really had to get too cute and think they could finesse everything to their advantage.
I am not happy and think this will haunt us during the season. It is a toxic situation no matter how much management tries to play it down. Do you really want your less talented backup making more money than your starter? Are we just to assume MAF and Walsh are totally over the drama and won’t pull more stunts?
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I think most of us who aren't overly emotionally attached to the players agree 100%. Nate's slight decline this year, maybe its just a blip, but makes what was a decent deal now about fairly priced. I think though the main takeaway is if they are going to be married to a PDB system then Nate's just worth less. His game is much more the open ice game of year's 1 and 2. Petro is much more a PDB shots from the point player. I think the Canucks will fit him much better and his stats should tick up a bit and they will look very smart giving up just a 3rd for him.
In the end I think most thinking fans just see this as too much desperation and not enough planning. Its like going down to the car dealer and knowing you want the hottest car in the most popular color. They had no other options in mind so they didn't really have any room to bargain. Even worse, now they have this massive advantage over the league in that they can take on expansion player bait and have zero cap to use to make it work. They HAVE to move Fleury, there's no way around it. Maybe they keep him for part of the season, but when some team has some injury or performance issues in goal, MAF has to be on the market and maybe they can get him to waive then seeing he will have a starter's role lined up. More importantly it will clear up space to use around the deadline when many GMs might be willing to do a deal with someone they figure to lose in a few months anyways.
They did not HAVE to trade Schmidt. I think they could have just as easily gotten a 3rd or better for Marchessault or Smith. It seems to me that like Florida and Smith several years ago, VGK had some second thoughts about the Schmidt contract for whatever reason and used this as a way to get out.
Maybe they are planning on locking up Whitecloud long term in a deal similar to what Tuch and Theodore did and would rather spend the Schmidt money in that manner?
I heard rumors that Stone and the top line guys want to play with ZW. If ZW starts getting more adventurous and starts putting up points he could start to get expensive.
And since we are going through with this, I want to see a strict Trotz-like goalie rotation during the year. Let’s make use of the goalie situation since we are paying so much for it. Let’s keep our goalies fresh since we have to weaken our defense a bit to keep them both around.
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KnishOfTheCrease
Chez Pierre Enthusiast
I think the whole point of keeping Fluery now is that there will be a goalie rotation with many back to backs in a condensed schedule. That’s not to say that anything could happen between now and training camp when someone like Chicago realize they have a set of pilons in goal or Pittsburgh wants some insurance for Jarry. Could also be a trade deadline deal for teams with an injured goalie.
Of course you should say MAF is "not for sale", it bumps up the price. Then maybe get someone to take him during the season without retention or sweetener
