There’s nothing flowery anymore about the Blackhawks’ ambitions for 2021-22.
Reigning Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has told the Hawks he will play for them this coming season, per multiple reports Sunday.
Fleury’s decision comes after four days of “taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future,” in the words of his agent, Allan Walsh. He was blindsided Wednesday when the Golden Knights, his team for the past four seasons, traded him to the Hawks after he’d settled down in Vegas with his wife and three young kids.
But Fleury will honor, after all, the final year of his contract rather than retiring or forcing a trade to the Penguins, his team for his first 13 years.
Hawks general manager Stan Bowman will need to be creative — and potentially active again in the trade market — to fit Fleury’s $7 million cap hit, but it should be worth it for a goalie of his caliber.
Fleury went 26-10-0 for the Knights in 2020, ranking third in the NHL with a .928 save percentage and fourth with 20.2 goals-saved-above-average, and will instantly form one of the league’s best goalie duos alongside Kevin Lankinen in Chicago.
The Hawks’ once-cautious rebuilding plans have been thrown out the window this summer by the acquisitions of Fleury, Seth Jones, Jake McCabe and others, indicating the team intends to contend immediately.
This story will be updated.
