Assuming they can get him, how aggressively should the Leafs pursue Fleury?
In a game where the Leafs put up 10 goals, the story should not be their goaltending. Unfortunately, the duo of Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek gave up a gaudy 7 goals in last night's chaotic win over the Detroit Red Wings. The most alarming part is that none of them were particularly pretty either.
Since December 31, the Leafs have the worst 5v5 sv% in the NHL. A far cry from the Vezina caliber performances we were seeing early in the season from Jack Campbell. Blame the schedule interruptions, blame lost confidence, blame the goaltending coach, blame whoever or whatever you want. The bottom line is, the Leafs have a goaltending problem.
As we all painfully learned during last year's playoffs, goaltending can make or break a post season run, Carey Price led a ragtag Canadiens team all the way to the finals. The Leafs are going to need, at the very least, reliable goaltending to make anything happen this year - especially to get past Florida or Tampa, their two most likely 1st round opponents.
This season there is a rare opportunity to snag the reigning Vezina trophy winner for a reasonable price. Marc Andre Fleury has been excellent for the Chicago Blackhawks, despite the team in front of him. He's still got it, and if the Leafs aren't on his 10 team no trade list, they should pursue a trade for him.
The Leafs would have to give up a pick, a prospect, and for salary and roster size reasons, Petr Mrazek. Knowing Dubas, there would be an additional pick thrown in for salary retention. The deal could look something like.
To CHI:
Petr Mrazek, Nick Abruzzese, 2023 2nd round pick, 2024 4th round pick
To TOR:
Marc Andre Fleury (3.5M retained)
Considering the fact that the Hawks acquired Fleury almost literally for free, almost anything is a net positive transaction for Chicago at this point. However, this deal gives both the Leafs and the Blackhawks exactly what they need.
The deal solidifies Toronto's goaltending for the playoffs and leaves their available deadline cap space entirely intact. Fleury is a reliable goaltender who seems to be defying the rules of time. He would be a great supporter for Jack Campbell as well, thanks to his well documented ability to be extremely supportive of his goaltending partner no matter who is the current number one.
From Chicago's perspective, they'll have paid almost nothing to acquire Fleury and will have used him to acquire a goaltender with cost-certainty for two more seasons, a high-quality prospect in Abruzzese, who is enjoying a strong NCAA season and just had the honour of representing Team USA at the Olympic Games in Beijing, and a pair of future picks, including a 2nd-rounder next season.
One of the most important pieces in the deal, believe it or not, is Petr Mrazek. The Blackhawks have no NHL goaltenders under contract after this season, as all of Fleury, Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia are pending UFA's.
A tandem of Jack Campbell and Marc Andre Fleury could be perfect for a Toronto team in desperate need of some consistency in the net. Who knows, with Fleury's help, maybe Jack could find the confidence he was playing with at the start of the season. Either way, the Leafs need help. With the deadline looming and goaltending like this, not addressing this need would be Dubas' biggest mistake since joining the Leafs as GM.
| POLL | ||
27 FEVRIER | 828 ANSWERS Assuming they can get him, how aggressively should the Leafs pursue Fleury? Is Marc-Andre Fleury the answer in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 397 | 47.9 % |
| No | 184 | 22.2 % |
| Not sure, but he's better than what they have now | 247 | 29.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
