ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on Feb. 28, 2022
After being mostly quiet as the NHL trade deadline approached, the Minnesota Wild has pulled off a huge deal that will land a legendary goaltender in St. Paul.
The club is sending a conditional first-round draft pick to Chicago for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The 37-year-old Fleury had to waive a no-trade clause in his contract, something he was apparently willing to do to escape the rebuilding Blackhawks, and join a team some feel can be a cup contender.
“If I move, I would love to have a chance to win,” Fleury told The Athletic in mid-February. “That’s what I play for and what I love. But it’s still a big if at this point.”
The draft pick dealt for Fleury will be a 2022 first-round selection if the Wild advance to the NHL Western Division playoff finals, and Fleury is the winning goaltender of record in a minimum of four games in the first and second rounds combined. If the two conditions are not met, the Wild will surrender a second-round pick in the 2022 draft.
As part of the deal Chicago will also absorb half of Fleury's remaining contract, which is reported to be $6 million, with a $7 million salary cap hit.
Fleury, nicknamed Flower, is one of the NHL's most beloved players and known for his athletic style and fun-loving personality. He won the Vezina Trophy last season with Las Vegas as the league's top goalie at age 36, then was promptly traded to the Blackhawks, where he put up respectable numbers in back of a terrible team. Chicago is currently 22-32 for the season.
In his time with Pittsburgh he won three Stanley Cup championships, and is the third goaltender in league history to reach 500 wins behind Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur.
To clear out a crowded net situation, the Wild announced that netminder Kaapo Kahkonen has been moved to San Jose along with a fifth-round pick, in exchange for scrappy 26-year-old defenseman Jacob Middleton. The left-shot blueliner has registered 89 blocks and 85 hits for the Sharks in 45 games this season.
In a more minor deal, Minnesota traded the rights to Boston College center Jack McBain in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft.
KARE 11 is following this rapidly developing situation and will have the latest on this final day before the NHL trade deadline.
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