Marc-Andre Fleury agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. Fleury will continue to play with Minnesota until the 2023-24 season. His current contract also contains a complete no-movement clause.
The 37-year-old goaltender was set to be an unrestricted free agent when the NHL free agency period began on July 14. Since the end of last season, the deal has been a primary concern for Wild general manager Bill Guerin.
Minnesota acquired Fleury from Chicago at the March trade deadline in exchange for a second-round draft pick. As part of a 1-2 pairing with Cam Talbot, Fleury finished the regular season with the Wild, going 9-2-0 with a.910 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average. With these numbers, Fleury and Talbot were expected to create a formidable barrier for the Minnesota Wild.
Fleury was named the Wild’s postseason starter after going 2-3-0 with a.906 save percentage and a 3.04 goals-against average in the Wild’s first-round loss to the St. Louis Blues. As he nears the end of his career, Fleury clearly wants to win another Stanley Cup. He first won it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, and he then assisted them to reach victory again in 2016 and 2017. He has made the playoffs in 16 consecutive seasons, the most for a goaltender in NHL history.
Fleury is third all-time in NHL goaltending wins with 520, trailing only Brodeur (691) and Roy (551). In 939 career games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Blackhawks, and Wild, he has a 520-299-85 record, a 2.57 goals-against-average, a.913 save percentage, and 71 shutouts.
Fleury was named the NHL’s top goaltender in 2020-21 after winning the Vezina Trophy. That season, the 37-year-old went 26-10-0 with a 1.98 goals-against-average and a.928 save percentage.
Minnesota Wild draft recap
Fleury was previously reported to be willing to be traded to the Leafs, and his decision to join a team, for the time being, strengthens Minnesota’s goaltending situation. Furthermore, much speculation surrounds who will step into the shoes of Kevin Fiala, who was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for University of Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber and a 2022 first-round draft pick.
With cap penalties looming as a result of the agreement buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Minnesota Wild is looking for NHL-ready players on low-cost entry-level contracts.
As a direct consequence, the Wild used their two first-round picks to select Swedish Liam Ohgren and Russian Danila Yurov, respectively, at Nos. 19 and 24. Ohgren is an excellent stand-in for one of the class’s more NHL-ready prospects. He recently led Sweden to a gold medal at the U18 World Junior Championship, and he’ll be a quick learner and leader in the NHL very soon.
Minnesota also prioritized offense with the No. 24 pick, choosing right-wing Danila Yurov from Magnitogorsk of the KHL. Yurov, 18, is the Wild’s highest-drafted Russian player, with 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 23 games last season for StaInye Lisy. He also played 21 games for Mettallurg in 2021-22.
Both new players will attend development camp from July 12-14, with the organization eager to add more prospects before the draft ends tomorrow. On Friday, Minnesota has six more picks in rounds 2-7, as well as picks 47 and 56.