Multiple Players Say Marc-Andre Fleury Is Still the NHL's Best Goalie

It's kind of crazy to think just how beloved Fleury is.  To have attained that level of universal acclaim is a testament to one's character, because it is so hard to be not only an elite athlete, but be someone that plays the right way, and do it with enthusiasm and love for the sport and the people who play it.

He's obviously not Vas or Swayman or Hellebuyck in consistency anymore, but it says a lot if some players would rather still put Fleury on that rare a pedestal.

I think Fleury has been sorta screwed this year because the Wild's defense has been diminished so badly. Dumba was a tough loss. Spurgeon being hurt and Merrill and Goligoski being just what you'd expect, slower and older, and not more skilled. Mermis and Hunt are rookies. Brodin hurt too. The team playing terrible team hockey many nights and having a coaching change, it hasn't been a season to prove you still got it for Fleury unless he single-handedly shuts out teams.

This is probably the second worst team he's played with besides Chicago. Pittsburgh and Vegas were both solid all the way with top centers and solid d-cores. This season is one that truly sucks for #29 to end on in MN.

Boldy has plateaued. Kaprizov is taking lots of damage. Mojo sucks except one-off games here and there. The Wild have too many little, soft, or weenie guys mixed with old vets who are just not that good. I would like to say this season was scripted and the Wild's suckiness was intended to garner a top pick. Sadly, I think Guerin's bets were not able to continue payouts above the average. The middling coach is swapped for another. The roster needed tweaks but it was kept mostly the same. The players who had career years before their contracts went easy somehow and came back just the same, okay at best. No career years this season except Faber.

The NMC/NTCs are a handicap. I hope Fleury can go to a team that has a chance. It ain't MN...

41 minutes ago, Protec said:

Boldy has plateaued. Kaprizov is taking lots of damage. Mojo sucks except one-off games here and there. The Wild have too many little, soft, or weenie guys mixed with old vets who are just not that good. I would like to say this season was scripted and the Wild's suckiness was intended to garner a top pick. Sadly, I think Guerin's bets were not able to continue payouts above the average. The middling coach is swapped for another. The roster needed tweaks but it was kept mostly the same. The players who had career years before their contracts went easy somehow and came back just the same, okay at best. No career years this season except Faber.

If Boldy has plateaued it will be because he is lazy.  He is only 22 and still filling out physically.  I do agree that Kaprizov is a concern because of the damage he is taking....but he seems to be improving as the season goes on and he gets over lagging injuries.  Mojo should never have been signed.  No doubt that losing Dumba hurt our depth at D.  It showed when we had injuries.  Especially considering that Merrill and Goligoski are playing worse than last year.

Bright spots do exist.  Ek has stepped up even another level.  Foligno is finding different ways to contribute.  Kirill is still an all star.  Faber has shown he is a 1D player at only 21 years old.  Brodin has showed that he is still a 1D.  Middleton has shown he is a solid 2D and has the ability to contribute offensively if needed.  Gus can definitely play in net.  

No doubt we need some roster adjustments.  But we still have a core that is viable to build a team with.  Just need some patience.

Wild have the 6th lowest points percentage in the league. It's unlikely they'll fail enough to grab a top 5 position for the lottery, but it's possible they'll remain among the bottom 10 teams.

In their current 6th position, the Wild would have a 15.2% chance of picking in the top 2 of the draft. Each position they move away from being the worst team in the league will lower their lottery chances by roughly 1-2%. If they were the 9th worst team, they would still have a 10.2% shot at jumping up to a top 2 selection. The odds move considerably lower if 9 or more teams finish with a worse record than the Wild.

There is also a possibility of moving up to #3, but those chances are less than .3% for any teams that finish 6th through 12th worst, where we would probably anticipate the Wild winding up this season.

I know the team will continue to fight for points, but finishing as a bottom 9 team just might be for the best long-term. Prior to the last 2 losses, I wasn't really considering this likelihood, but those losses were deflating for their playoff chances and a top prospect could make the future much brighter.

3 hours ago, Protec said:

Boldy has plateaued.

To me, this statement seems to indicate that he won't get better. I could see him on a stair landing getting ready to take the next flight though.

What is lacking in his game is explosion, both physically and skating. I think this would be solved with letting the sticks be secondary and concentrating on strength and skating this summer. He needs edge work as he consistently somewhat blows a tire (not fully but skids a lot), and lacks that suddenness that is needed. I'm still waiting for him to put his head and shoulder down and bull his way to the net. He's big enough for it, but plays many times like he's Rossi's size. 

Lastly, he needs to be stronger on pucks. There are far too many soft giveaways. I do give grace where creativity is involved (same with Kaprizov), but these soft turnovers need to be cut in half with both players. Part of the problem is predictability. Opponents are ready to jump on Kaprizov's east-west passing and do not respect Boldy being able to take it to the net. You've got to back the defense off to be fully effective. No defender wants to be beaten around the edge, so they will defend that first. But, if they don't fear it, they will jump on the other stuff. 

Boldy could be a top power forward in this league but he is too passive right now.  

He needs to take a page out of Ek's game.  Hit the weights and get a little tenacity.

So he's only half of Minnesota. He needs to add the aggressive on to the passive!