Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins need to find a taker for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. And he’s not making it easy on them, as he’s in the midst of what might be the worst season of his NHL career. The first overall pick of the 2003 NHL Draft has done a lot of great things in Pittsburgh, helping them win two Stanley Cups. However, Matt Murray is clearly the future. His recent extension makes Fleury expendable.
But there are some issues making this quite complicated. One of them is Fleury’s play. His .903 save percentage as of Dec. 23 is the lowest of his career since he was a 21 year old during the 2005-06 NHL season.
However, the larger issue at hand is his contract. It’s looking pretty terrible right now, especially with Fleury declining. He has two years left on his deal after the 2016-17 NHL season and his cap hit is just under $6 million.
That’s not even the most complicated issue, with the honor belonging to Fleury’s no movement clause. This means he either has to be protected in the expansion draft next summer or he has to willingly waive it. They could work something out with Vegas, as shady deals are a time honored tradition of expansion drafts. But even that might not be enough.