The 2015-16 NHL season is in the books and it was a forgettable one for the Calgary Flames. The team’s number one priority in the offseason is to add a starting goaltender, and it sounds like General Manager Brad Treliving is talking to the Stanley Cup champions in an effort to upgrade Calgary’s crease. It makes perfect sense, as acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury could make the Calgary Flames a playoff team next season.
Acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury Could Make the Calgary Flames a Playoff Team
Mike Halford of NBC Sports reported that Treliving has reached out to the Pittsburgh Penguins to discuss the possibility of Fleury being dealt to Calgary. Fleury has been solid for the Pens, but the emergence of Matt Murray, who at 22 years of age backstopped Pittsburgh to a Stanley Cup this season, has made the first overall pick from 2003 available.
Fleury finished this season with a 2.29 GAA, a .921 SV%, 35 wins and five shutouts. All of these stats rank him in the top-10 league wide. However, Murray took over the crease late in the season when Fleury was injured and stole the starter’s role.
The Penguins now have a veteran backup in Fleury who has two Stanley Cup rings, but also comes with a $5.75 million price tag for the next three seasons. Murray on the other hand, makes just $820,000 next season, and the Penguins find themselves in a bit of a cap crunch which makes it unreasonable for them to keep Fleury as their second option in goal.
Dealing the veteran netminder makes sense from a financial standpoint and also the long-term outlook for the team. Not only is Murray the goaltender of the future in Pittsburgh, but his 15 wins, 2.08 GAA and .923 SV% in the postseason show he is the goalie of the present as well.
Further making a Fleury trade a no-brainer move for the Penguins is the fact that there is very likely to be an expansion draft next year. Fleury’s no-movement clause might make it mandatory for the Penguins to protect him, which would leave Murray vulnerable to leave town with no return just a year after winning a championship.
The clause also means Fleury may void a pending trade, but it is more likely than not that he would agree to waive it in order to get the bulk of the starts somewhere else next season, rather than watching Murray from the bench.
So, sending Fleury to Calgary makes a lot of sense for the Penguins, but makes even more sense for the Flames.
Flames Better With Fleury
Calgary is coming off a season where they ranked 10th in the NHL in goals scored, but were dead last in goals allowed. The trio of Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo and Joni Ortio stumbled through the season, and they combined for a league-low .892 SV%.
With Hiller already signed to play in Switzerland next season and Ramo an unrestricted free agent who is unlikely to be brought back, it is obvious the Flames are in the market for a starting goaltender.
The Flames are a team with a solid group of forwards, led by Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, Michael Frolik and Mikael Backlund. Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie and Dougie Hamilton form one of the top bluelines in the league, meaning if this team had capable goaltending, they could challenge for a playoff spot next season.
The tandem of Fleury and Ortio played 80 games last season (albeit for different organizations obviously) and posted a combined .916 SV%. It’s hard to say exactly how many more wins the Flames would have put up with Fleury and Ortio between the pipes during the season, but a team .916 SV% instead of the paltry .892 SV% that Calgary had would have cut their goals allowed from 230 to somewhere much closer to 200.
A team that can score 229 times and keep their goals against close to 200 would have pushed the Minnesota Wild for the final wildcard spot.
There is no question the Flames are a much better team if they add Fleury, but what would it cost to acquire a goaltender who could make the Flames a playoff team again?
Gauging the Market
Well, with the market as it is, there are not many teams looking for an upgrade in goal. The Toronto Maple Leafs are possibly the only other team that would be able to offer Fleury a guaranteed first string role in net. The downside there for Fleury is the Leafs are in full rebuild mode, making a playoff run unlikely next year. Calgary is the most sensible destination for Fleury if he wants to start for a playoff contender.
Basic supply and demand would suggest the Pens aren’t in a position to ask for the moon for Fleury. The only reasonable comparable to a Fleury trade in recent history was the Roberto Luongo deal that sent him back to the Florida Panthers in 2014.
The Vancouver Canucks sent Luongo to the Panthers for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias. Both players were once highly ranked prospects, but Markstrom was a 24-year-old goalie struggling to transition to the NHL and Matthias was a 26-year-old center who had 16 points in 59 games.
What Would it Take?
Perhaps it takes one of the Flames many goaltending prospects to make the Pens comfortable to move their number one goalie for the past decade. Pittsburgh would love to add Jon Gillies but that won’t happen in this type of deal. Maybe after signing David Rittich to a deep pool of goalie prospects, the Flames would be willing to move Mason McDonald for Fleury.
The most likely scenario would see the Flames use one of their three 2nd round picks as trade bait to acquire Fleury. Calgary added additional 2nd rounders from the Panthers in the Jiri Hudler trade and from the Dallas Stars in the Kris Russell deal, and now hold picks number 35, 54 and 56.
With the market for goaltenders so low and it being necessary for the Penguins to move Fleury, the 54th overall pick may be the best offer Pittsburgh gets for Fleury.
Normally when a team misses the postseason by 10 points, they should be focused on rebuilding. However, everything about the Flames roster aside from the men in the crease suggest they should be challenging for a playoff berth.
Adding Fleury to the Flames roster would check that box as well, and give Calgary fans a reason to hope for playoff hockey at the Saddledome in 2017.
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