Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Trade Rumors: Marc-André Fleury's Future With Penguins Still Uncertain
The trade deadline is just a few hours away, but Marc-André Fleury's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins is still up in the air.
He finally had a chat with Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford and he said they would continue to talk through Wednesday.
Did he ask for a trade? Fleury refused to share the details of their conversation, but TSN's Darren Dreger doesn't think he's going anywhere.
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Fleury has been one of the mainstays of the team, but Murray has supplanted him as the starting goalie this season. It's clear that Murray is now the team's goalie of the present and future. If Fleury wants to play heavy minutes, he will have to do it elsewhere.
Rutherford has repeatedly stated he wants to keep both Fleury and Matt Murray for their title defense, but he also said he will always keep Fleury's wishes in mind. If the veteran goaltender requests for a trade, Rutherford will have to move him.
Last week, Rutherford told NHL Network that he has received calls inquiring about Fleury, but he has yet to receive a trade offer for the goalie. Has that changed this week?
Well, the market for goaltenders is limited right now. A lot of people were stunned when the Tampa Bay Lightning traded goalie Ben Bishop and a 2017 fifth-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Peter Budaj, Erik Cernak and a 2017 seventh-round pick.
The Kings were not looking for a goalie, so why send Bishop there? Well, Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman has an interesting answer. He said there wasn't much of a market for goalies and the Kings were their only option. This means the Penguins won't get much in return if they trade Fleury right now because nobody is looking for a goalie.
If Fleury does get traded, Lyle Richardson of Spectors Hockey said goalie's possible landing spots include the Calgary Flames, the Dallas Stars, the St. Louis Blues, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Ottawa Senators, the Winnipeg Jets and the Carolina Hurricanes. However, he also believes that Fleury may stay put.
