As per a report by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Washington Capitals weren’t able to land their primary target ahead of the trade deadline this season. Seravalli writes that the Capitals had targeted goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks and says, “They put on the full-court press for Marc-Andre Fleury, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen.”
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Whether the Capitals move to some kind of Plan B or Fleury was their only goaltending target on the market will be interesting to see. Fleury is arguably the biggest goaltending name available at this year’s deadline, but he has a lot of control over where he goes this season. With a 10-team no-trade clause in his contract, speculation was that Fleury shot down the Capitals because of their past rivalries with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where the netminder still has a lot of friends and close ties. While not confirmed, it is believed he couldn’t bring himself to play for an ex-rival and some wonder if he believed that doing so could jeopardize the potential he would one day return and become a member of the Penguins’ organization.
There is also some thought that Fleury is happy enough to ride out the rest of the season in Chicago versus moving his family again just to chase another shot at a Stanley Cup.
Capitals Next Move
As for what the Capitals do next, Seravalli does note, “They want a starting, Stanley Cup-caliber goaltender – someone allows coach Peter Laviolette to sleep soundly at night – and they wanted him yesterday.” Options out there aren’t plentiful.
Could the Capitals look to bring back a former goalie in Braden Holtby? Holtby has seen a resurgence in Dallas this season and could be moved by the Stars if a team is willing to give up enough assets to make a trade logical.
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