Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks Connected to Marc-Andre Fleury After Keith Trade
After trading Duncan Keith, there are rumors swirling that they might use their cap space to go after goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
If there was ever a question about what the Chicago Blackhawks might do with the cap space they freed up after refusing to retain salary in the Duncan Keith deal, there might be an answer based on a report by Scott Powers of The Athletic and Elliotte Friedman of the 31 Thoughts podcast. Both suggest the Blackhawks might be in the mix for a Vezina Trophy winning goalie.
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Powers writes (subscription required):
According to a league source, the Blackhawks could be in play for Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. With Fleury having just one year left on his contract, the Blackhawks could financially afford his $7 million cap hit if needed. Stay tuned.
The room for his $7 million cap hit comes, in part because they moved Keith to the Edmonton Oilers. Elliotte Friedman noted in his latest podcast that he’s heard the rumblings about Fleury and he believes there’s something to it. He’s certainly not ruling out the notion the Blackhawks might explore this.
It makes sense the Blackhawks would be in the market for a goalie. They have Collin Delia ($1 million), Malcolm Subban ($850K) and Kevin Lankinen ($850K). Lankinen played 37 games for the Blackhawks last season and posted a 3.01 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
Some insiders might suggest the Blackhawks could ask for a prospect as a sweetener to take Fleury’s entire salary. That said, after winning the award for the league’s best goalie, there’s likely a team willing to take on his full salary. It will be important for the Vegas Golden Knights to move the entire cap hit to go after a top-six center. That could include a name like Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres.
What About Seth Jones?
This is an interesting bit of news considering the Blackhawks are rumored to be targeting Seth Jones to fill the hole left by Keith’s departure. Friedman asked if the Blackhawks could realistically make a deal for Jones. Jeff Marek said it starts with Kirby Dach. If not, it Alex Debrincat and both guys said Chicago isn’t making that deal.
Do they have the cap space to wait for Seth Jones in free agency?
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