Leafs goaltending options vanishing one by one; Fleury re-signs with the Wild
There had been hope that the Leafs would make a push for Marc-Andre Fleury when he became a free agent on July 13th. Unfortunately, the Leafs won't even get a chance as the Minnesota Wild announced just before the draft began that they had re-signed MAF to a 2-year deal worth $3.5M per season including a full no movement clause.
The Leafs had been interested in Fleury at the trade deadline, but couldn't work out a deal with Chicago and according to reports, Fleury was willing to waive his no trade clause to come to Toronto. With Fleury re-signing today, the goaltending market becomes thinner, meaning those that reach free agency will have an increased worth on the open market, thus likely being offered more money. That could mean the Leafs are priced out on Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell already, leaving the unproven Ville Husso as the most likely and cost effective goalie they pursue. Even with Husso, there have been reports that the Blues hope to re-sign him as well, so the market is getting very, very thin.
Unless Dubas is working out a trade of some sort for a goalie, or trade players from their roster to free up cap space, the Leafs will be hard-pressed to find themselves a true number one goalie for the upcoming season, which is alarming and concerning.
