Marc-Andre Fleury Staying In Minnesota For Final Year Before Retirement

I'll just come out and say it: I think this was a mistake and another unforced error by the GM. I think Fleury's toast. From my eye test his reflexes look to be slowing and that is killer for a goalie with his style of play and body type.

So, Fleury, I'll be cheering for you, prove me wrong!!!

I'm really wondering about the true benefit here. Does this help Goose? Does it help The Wall? Could we possibly run a 3 goalie room (and for times, I am not opposed to this)? 

Our goalie cap # goes down to just over $6m. $7m if we run 3 goalies. Now, this is a 35+ deal. There is a chance that The Wall could solidly beat out Fleury in training camp, and he could retire before the season starts allowing us to recoup the contract. I doubt that happens.

One of the reasons why Guerin said that he traded Staal to Buffalo was that he didn't want players here who were just trying to play out the string on a good career. This looks an awful lot like that. I'd like to know how this is different in his eyes and am hoping someone actually asks him that question. Both players had SC rings. Staal was actually younger. But, you could see that his skating was much slower. 

Thing number 2 in this is how does this affect The Wall? Askerov was taken a year ahead of The Wall. He is still in Milwaukee. He would be the closest competitive comparable to The Wall right now. 

Could it be that the GM is not happy with the goalie room and Goose might be in trouble? I kind of doubt that, I'd think he's earned a bounce back year trial. But, could it be that he's on a short leash? That is quite possible.

This season, I thought the Wild were not really prepared to handle a goalie injury. This does help the depth for that. I think the down the line goalies will really change. This may spell the end for McIntyre, Hunter Jones, and maybe Payton Jones. The Wall has got to get more NHL starts, though. 

This one, to me is overpayment to the position, and unnecessary, but I'm not the professional GM here. 

22 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Askerov was taken a year ahead of The Wall. He is still in Milwaukee. He would be the closest competitive comparable to The Wall right now. 

Great comparable here mnfan.  This is how we need to do our progress reports with our prospect pool (vs in a vacuum only looking at AHL competition/performance).  While I'm not sure Wall-E is ready for a steady NHL #2 role, and it's encouraging that Askarov isn't there yet either, I think Guerin's plan is for Wall-E to get a bunch of spot starts next year with Gus/Fleury taking the bulk of the work.  If Guerin gets an offer for Gus he can't refuse this off-season then Gus is sent packing and we backfill with another goalie prospect for Iowa and Wall-E gets thrown into the fire next season.

I think part of Fleury's AAV is for his services and a goalie coach and emotional support animal for the young goalie prospect.  

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Filip Gustavsson will of course remain as a member of the Wild, since he has two more years left on his deal, but he really did not show any promise of returning to his 2022-23 form throughout the past 82 games.

He seemed closer than Fleury. Gus had a .908 save percentage in the last 20 games he was on the ice. Gus took on more top offenses throughout the year.

Fleury had a phenomenal 12-game stretch in his last 20 appearances, but still only achieved an .898 save percentage in his last 20, and struggled badly facing top offenses. Even if bringing him back was a good move to bolster the goalie depth, should have been able to do it for $2M or less.

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'll just come out and say it: I think this was a mistake and another unforced error by the GM.

If the roster stays with Gus and Fleury, then I 100% agree with you.  If Gus is out of the picture and Wallstedt plays up in the N, then I like the move.  Gus needs to go.  My reasons:  We are not cup contenders and I would rather have Wallstedt learning from Fleury then Gus.  

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

Could it be that the GM is not happy with the goalie room and Goose might be in trouble? I kind of doubt that, I'd think he's earned a bounce back year trial. But, could it be that he's on a short leash? That is quite possible.

It seems to me this is a signal that Gus is on the chopping block which I think is a terrible mistake. Even knowing they had to talk to him about the efforts put in at practice and his training regiment. That's what the coach is there for. Why the heck do we need a coach if we expect everyone to be self starters? 

On the subject of Fleury vs Gus, Gus was the better goaltender this year. His ceiling was higher and his floor not quite as low. He had the harder matchups all season long and still ended with a better save % and GAA. I was hoping the move was going to be to offer Fleury a goalie coaching job to help mentor the Wall. 

After seeing the goaltending how it was this year, I see no reason to run it back as it was with a premiere prospect knocking at the door. This seems to be Guerin's go to and it isn't working. First with the extensions of veterans a year before necessary and now with Flower. 

Ohgren, Dinov, Kap, Ek, Rossi, Boldy, The Wall and Faber need to be the focus from here on out. You know what will help the room? Winning. We need no further veterans for locker room presence.  

Lots of playoff hockey not in the N

After 2 periods, Metallurg and Lokomotiv were tied at 0.

Saginaw dropped it's game 4-0 and the series is tied at 2.

Moose Jaw won it's game 5-2, Parker with an assist, MJ up 3-1.

Prince George dropped it's 1st game in the playoffs 2-1 and are up 3-1 in the series, Heidt gets an apple.

Metallurg and Lokomotiv tied 1-1 with 2 minutes left in the 3rd. Looks like OT to me.

Correction, looks like Metallurg popped in a late goal with a minute left to go up 2-1.

I’m torn on the fleury ext. I like flower. Yes I think his play is declining. . He definitely could be good next year or the wheels fall off .  Gus could rebound or be a bust. Who knows what walls is yet . So I get having some extra security plus I like the idea of moving Gus if it helps you upgrade and they feel walls is coming along. I also like the idea of fleury going into management.  
   Yesterday I read the athletic article on Fred. It’s a sympathetic story of him being hurt all year from reaves hit. I’m sorry but I feel no sympathy for him or team. It’s actually irritating to find out he played all year hurt or so he says. IMO he’s a below average player healthy an a ahl or below player when hurt. Once again if Billy is really trying to win then why is Fred playing hurt. He did nothing except take other players opportunities this year . Why didn’t he go on Ir after say 40 games of knowing he can’t play. Why is he even on this team is what I keep asking myself. It makes no sense. So next year Fred gets crumpled in corner again , plays another worthless season then writes a story about his injury hampering his glorious goal scoring.  Just ridiculous.  Why wasn’t Billy looking to replace him internally or externally early in season if winning is so important. It just shows we aren’t a Stanley cup type organization. We don’t care about winning. 
    I like flower but my thought when hearing about the extension is next season is going to be an emotional PR season. Every game will be about the flowers last. Not about how the wild can’t win a playoff round and what they are doing about it.  When do we get to have playoff hockey beyond 4 games ? Not soon or ever the way Billy is slow rolling. 

5 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Lots of playoff hockey not in the N

After 2 periods, Metallurg and Lokomotiv were tied at 0.

Saginaw dropped it's game 4-0 and the series is tied at 2.

Moose Jaw won it's game 5-2, Parker with an assist, MJ up 3-1.

Prince George dropped it's 1st game in the playoffs 2-1 and are up 3-1 in the series, Heidt gets an apple.

Any word on Kumpalanin (I can't remember how he spells his name)? He got run into an open bench door yesterday.

The end of season presser is coming. Probably another good one like last year. I’m sure the Spurg injury excuse will be front and center.  Well I think of Tampa and vasy the starting goaltender being out half the season. That’s a much bigger hurdle to overcome with the same cap problems we have. They brought in a nobody goalie to hold the fort till vasy was back. And they are in playoffs. 
    The injury excuse is getting old. If this team can’t operate without spurg or Fred healthy than it’s a nothing team. They need to get tougher players and guys who can step up when others go down. Not curl up in feral positions and cry injury. 

1 hour ago, Up North Guy said:

Any word on Kumpalanin (I can't remember how he spells his name)? He got run into an open bench door yesterday.

None, they didn't play last night, they play tonight.

Last game of the season. ESPN regular. I'm blocked. GRRRRR

40 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

None, they didn't play last night, they play tonight.

I saw the replay last night so I assumed it was last night.

Brian Boyle made an observation on nhl network yesterday about the difference of teams from west an east.  He said the difference is the west plays heavy with team  defense. 5 guys playing team d where in the east it’s more run and gun. If you look at the west he’s right the top teams have all copied Vegas and play a similar style. 
   To me it seems Billy is building the east coast run and gun but we’re in the west. In the west that doesn’t seem to work in a central division . Watching the game tonight I don’t see how adding Spurg gets the wild past Vegas, Winnipeg, Colorado, la ,or  even Edmonton . Billy is building a high flying regular season team that can’t take the physicality of playoffs . If you just look at the matchups we are lacking in every area compared to other playoff teams. Billy really needs to start gm ing this year and getting playoff players. 

6 minutes ago, Dean said:

He said the difference is the west plays heavy with team  defense. 5 guys playing team d where in the east it’s more run and gun.

I do believe that the East is definitely faster play. Boston seems to play the West game. I can see Guerin building a skill team. I guess my question on that would be, what will these other Western teams look like in 3-4 years? Will the West be a little more run and gun? Some of the up and coming teams appear to be going in that direction.

16 hours ago, Dean said:

    The injury excuse is getting old. If this team can’t operate without spurg or Fred healthy than it’s a nothing team. They need to get tougher players and guys who can step up when others go down. Not curl up in feral positions and cry injury. 

I think the main issue this year was the goalies. Partially due to the blue-line injuries, sure, but mainly because Gus went from Vezina-worthy to WTF. 

The combined expected-goals-against was 149 and we wound up giving up 163. Compared to '22-'23 when our xGA was 164 and we only gave up 140. It flipped.

Gus went from a 2.1 GAA to 3.06, so he gave up damn near an extra goal every game compared to last season. Which will make a big difference.

MAF's also went up slightly but only by 0.13 G so his level of play stayed fairly steady. Which is likely why the GM felt confident giving him another year. 

I think Gus gets 'til the TDL to show that he can bounce back from his struggles this season, otherwise he's gone for whatever the GM can get from him and the Wall will get his chance to take a starting role. 

Well now we wait for the lottery to see if we can maybe move up. 

I think we're far more likely to stay at lucky #13, and I don't mind it. There's a chance we can still land Yakemchuck, possibly even Silyayev, to boost the blueline and that would be my preference but odds are high both of them will be gone. 

Which will leave us to pick between some potential top-6 quality forwards in Catton (though unlikely he makes it to #13), Helenius (probably the safest pick), or Tij Iginla if the Flames don't make the legacy pick. 

Most likely, I think we will have Helenius available just due to his 'boring' game/lack of size and he'll be tough to pass up. He projects as an all-around C and I think he'd be a perfect fit next to Ohgren on a top-6 quality 'do it all' 3rd line in the near future. Iginla would be a great fit on the 2nd line to give us a sniper we've been missing since Fiala left though. 

11 hours ago, B1GKappa97 said:

I think the main issue this year was the goalies. Partially due to the blue-line injuries, sure, but mainly because Gus went from Vezina-worthy to WTF. 

The combined expected-goals-against was 149 and we wound up giving up 163. Compared to '22-'23 when our xGA was 164 and we only gave up 140. It flipped.

Gus went from a 2.1 GAA to 3.06, so he gave up damn near an extra goal every game compared to last season. Which will make a big difference.

MAF's also went up slightly but only by 0.13 G so his level of play stayed fairly steady. Which is likely why the GM felt confident giving him another year. 

I think Gus gets 'til the TDL to show that he can bounce back from his struggles this season, otherwise he's gone for whatever the GM can get from him and the Wall will get his chance to take a starting role. 

Still can't fault guerin can you? He built alot of this team, its now his. He is making calls to keep the vets in and a core that was JUST mediocre, around. Unless they get past the vet philosophy(which looks as they havent) and switch it up and let the youth play, there is no way this team is going anywhere for a few years. Failure to show kk they are building towards something,MUCH longer, hes gone. Right now, with how they operate, I'm betting on the continuation of old vets that were nothing than 4th liners getting top 6 minutes.

We shall see how this year u folds but billy and his ego worries me for this team heading forward.

On 4/19/2024 at 10:20 PM, Need4speed99 said:

Still can't fault guerin can you? He built alot of this team, its now his. He is making calls to keep the vets in and a core that was JUST mediocre, around. Unless they get past the vet philosophy(which looks as they havent) and switch it up and let the youth play, there is no way this team is going anywhere for a few years.

I think the thing some people miss is the 2 pronged approach Guerin has built. Yes, he's built most of this current team. The mandate on him was to have a competitive team that makes the playoffs. 

But, Leipold also wants a contender. Guerin building a contender is through the draft, and he's done that a bit under the radar. Someone pointed out he's had 3 picks in the 1st 2 rounds in each of the last 3 drafts. These guys he has stashed away, marinated and not brought them up too soon.

If you look at the roster on capfriendly, you will find that the designations that most think are there actually lighten up come '25-26. NMCs now become M-NTCs. And really, for the placeholders that Guerin currently has on this roster, guys that have proven themselves as at least playoff worthy, they deserve a shot at having some say in where they would go. 

Some might say it's ironclad, look at Goligoski. Goligoski's game went into the dumpster at the midpoint of 2 seasons ago. Seriously, what use was he for anyone? For us it would have just been a subtraction. He had no value to anyone else except Prossbox chip serving and break glass in case of emergency. Even then, he may or may not show up.

Fleury wouldn't waive his since we were still in the race, he wanted to stay loyal to this organization, and wasn't particularly keen on moving his family. If we were out of it would he have moved? Maybe. Teams did want him. 

We've got a bunch of guys who will be moving up. If they can beat out placeholders, those placeholders can be moved. When they find out opportunity has been taken, they are usually more open to where another opportunity might be.

On 4/19/2024 at 9:20 PM, Need4speed99 said:

Still can't fault guerin can you? He built alot of this team, its now his. He is making calls to keep the vets in and a core that was JUST mediocre, around. Unless they get past the vet philosophy(which looks as they havent) and switch it up and let the youth play, there is no way this team is going anywhere for a few years. Failure to show kk they are building towards something,MUCH longer, hes gone. Right now, with how they operate, I'm betting on the continuation of old vets that were nothing than 4th liners getting top 6 minutes.

We shall see how this year u folds but billy and his ego worries me for this team heading forward.

Fault him for what? Dealing with the fallout of Fletcher's Parise/Suter signings? No, I still can't. Sorry not sorry. 

Which young guys outplayed the vets and were still blocked? Walker? Beckman? Neither looked like quality NHLers. Mermis? Is he better than Chisholm or Bogo? I don't think so. 

I think when guys like Ohgren and Khusnutdinov, and in the future Wallstedt and Yurov, make the club full-time we will have a more complete picture of what the GM is building rather than looking at this, clearly, transitional phase and assuming that's what he wants for the future..