Wild's Fleury Deserves Better

With the trade deadline looming, Marc-André Fleury has a decision to make

The NHL trade deadline continues to draw closer, and some teams are starting to make moves. Under the leadership of general manager Bill Guerin, the Minnesota Wild are typically pretty quiet leading up to the deadline. Some teams have rumors surrounding their players for months prior, but not the Wild; Guerin keeps things close to his chest. When it comes to trades, most players don’t have a say in where they go or when they’re traded. 

The NHL is a business, and unfortunately for fans, sometimes that means saying goodbye to household names when a trade goes down. It’s typically not easy for the player unless they ask for the trade. Having to uproot your life, including your family, and move to a new place isn’t easy. While that’s normal for most players, some do have a say, and the Wild has made it clear one of their players controls his destiny, and that is 39-year-old goaltender Marc-André Fleury. 

Fleury’s contract ends after this season, and while he currently has a no-move clause, which means he says where and when if he leaves, it’s unclear if he’ll use it. Also, with the goaltending situation the Wild have planned next season, he likely wouldn’t be re-signed. He’s been quoted as saying he won’t go if the Wild will make playoffs, according to an article by The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith, but that window is getting tighter and tighter. While they’ve been doing well recently, every win gets them a bit closer, while every loss seems to catapult them outside the window (‘Wild trade tracker: GM Bill Guerin says Marc-André Fleury will ‘call the shots’ at the deadline’, The Athletic, 02/22/2024 ).