The face of the Vegas Golden Knights has made it clear that he wants to wrap up his career in the desert.
What an inaugural season for the Vegas Golden Knights. The team came out of nowhere and shocked the world by making it to the Stanley Cup Final. Despite coming up short against the Washington Capitals, the future looks very bright for the Golden Knights.
A lot of the team’s success had a lot to do with the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury absolutely stole the show since arriving in Las Vegas way back at the expansion draft last June. The Sorel, Quebec native was not only a leader on the ice but a leader off it as well.
The 33-year old netminder always brought a smile to the rink every day. His teammates admired his work ethic, attitude and leadership since day one. But what about “the Flower’s” long term status with the Golden Knights?
On Friday at the Golden Knights breakup day, Fleury said that he loves the city of Las Vegas and would like to finish his career here. We know Fleury will be back in a Golden Knights uniform next year, but he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019-20. I think the decision is pretty obvious to me.
Fleury needs to come back fulltime and finish his career with the NHL’s newest franchise. There are not many goaltenders like Fleury that battle the way he does. He was a top-five goalie this year despite missing a ton of action at the beginning of the season.
With Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk waiting in the wings, Fleury knows that both goalies will be hungry at the start of training camp vying for that backup spot next season. The Flower can also be a teacher to young prospect goalies like Subban and Dansk. Who better to listen to than the three-time Stanley Cup Champion?
Marc-Andre Fleury- “it’s funny because a year ago I was thinking I was getting too old to play this game. Vegas gave me an opportunity to continue doing what I love and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. I hope I finish my career here.”
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 8, 2018
In 46 regular season games in 2017-18, he posted a 29-13-4 record with a GAA of 2.24 and a .927 SV%. Those numbers are up there amongst the tops of the NHL. Perhaps if he didn’t get injured, we would be talking about a Vezina trophy finalist for sure. He also picked up his play in the postseason.
In 20 games played during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he won 13 games and lost seven while also recording a 2.24 GAA and a .927 SV%. Up until the Stanley Cup Final, he was the sure bet for the Conn Smythe trophy. However, the Golden Knights defense did not play their best series against Washington thus booting Fleury out of the running for the playoff MVP and more importantly the Stanley Cup.
On July 1st, general managers can start talking to players who are unrestricted free agents for the 2019-20 season. Golden Knights general manager should have no problem sitting down with Fleury and discussing a contract. Although, I do think it’s essential that both sides reach an agreement before the 2018-19 season gets underway.
Because if McPhee runs the risk of Fleury playing out his contract year, the goaltender could put up all-star numbers once again, therefore, driving up Fleury’s dollar amount. And if this team makes another deep run and Fleury still doesn’t have a contract, there’s no guarantee the veteran goaltender comes back to T-Mobile Arena as a Golden Knight.
The Golden Knights need to pay a lot of big players this offseason such as William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, Colin Miller, James Neal and David Perron. Vegas also wants to be active in the free agent market as they want to improve their roster. But it’s vital that they sign Fleury as the long-term backstop because without him, whos where this team would be.
Next: Vegas Golden Knights: Future Remains Bright Despite Stanley Cup Final Loss
Overall, Marc-Andre Fleury is that important to the Vegas Golden Knights. If the team decides to part ways with him after 2018-19, it may be a decision that they will regret for a long time. So for the sake of Golden Knights fans, get this deal locked up as soon as possible.