Marc Andre-Fleury will play for the Blackhawks rather than retire

After some immediate hesitation after a surprising trade, Marc-Andre Fleury will indeed join the Chicago Blackhawks.

Among the moves to cross the NHL transaction wire last week, the Vegas Golden Knights trade of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks might have been the most surprising. Even Fleury himself was caught off-guard by the move, taking time over the last several days mull his future. Retirement was clearly on the table.

Fleury’s core issue in regard to the trade was with moving his family to an unfamiliar city, not with the Blackhawks’ organization. On Sunday, according to multiple reports, the three-time Stanley Cup winner has decided he will join his new team.

The Blackhawks’s Twitter feed essentially confirmed the news, referencing Fleury’s nickname-Flower.

https://twitter.com/NHLBlackhawks/status/1421842422481526788?s=20

Marc-Andre Fleury seems to have a lot left in the tank

Fleury is 36 years old, but he’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career in 2020-21. He posted a career-best .928 save percentage with a 1.98 goals-against average, six shutouts and 26 wins in 36 regular season appearances. He also won the Vezina Trophy for the first time.

Fleury has one year left on his contract, with a $7 million cap hit. He’ll become Chicago’s No. 1 goaltender, with Kevin Lankinen in line for a good share of work as the backup after he faded late in his rookie season. Visions of a Fleury reunion with the Pittsburgh Penguins will have to be put on hold, at minimum.

Along with the trade of long-time blue line mainstay Duncan Keith, the Blackhawks have made some notable additions this offseason (Seth Jones, Tyler Johnson, Jake McCabe). Fleury’s place on that list of notable additions became tenuous immediately, but he’s going to at least start the final year of his contract in a Blackhawks’ uniform.