News broke on Sunday that Marc-Andre Fleury will report to the Chicago Blackhawks. The recent Vezina Trophy winner was unsure of playing for Chicago after being traded by the Vegas Golden Knights. The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli confirmed the news first.
Marc-Andre Fleury has informed the #Blackhawks that he intends to play this upcoming season.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) August 1, 2021
Marc-Andre Fleury to Play for Blackhawks
Chicago’s social media team then confirmed the news by posting a flower emoji on its Twitter page. Fleury was unsure about playing in the Windy City after his puzzling exit for the Golden Knights. He cited uprooting his family and moving them to a new city as the main reason. However, Fleury seems to be all ready to report to Chicago.
The Sorel, Quebec native went 26-10 with a 1.98 goals-against-average and .928 save percentage. He also logged six shutouts in a stellar campaign in Sin City. Fleury has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Golden Knights in his 17-year NHL career. Pittsburgh originally drafted him with the first overall pick of the 2003 NHL Draft.
“The Flower” has 492 wins, 276 losses and 82 overtime losses in his career. Fleury has a career GAA of 2.55 and a career save percentage of .913. He also has 67 shutouts in his surefire Hall of Famer career.
Vegas traded Fleury for minor league forward Mikael Hakkarainen last week. The move was a way the Golden Knight could save salary cap space and give Robin Lehner the starting job.
What it Means
The 36-year-old is part of the Blackhawks’ fast rebuild that sees them transform their roster in short order. Chicago acquired defenceman Seth Jones and the return of captain Jonathan Toews. Kirby Dach should also be ready to go after appearing in just 18 games last season.
The Blackhawks are looking to get back to competing for the Stanley Cup after a disastrous 2020-21 season. Chicago placed sixth in the eight-team Central Division with a 24-25-7 record. The team recorded 55 points and was nine points behind the Nashville Predators for the last playoff spot.
