MARC-ANDRE FLEURY MOVED TO CHICAGO!
The Chicago Blackhawks acquired goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the Vegas Golden Knights for center Mikael Hakkarainen.
What does it give the Chicago Blackhawks
It is not often that NHL teams are able to acquire a Vezina trophy winner, let alone the one who just won it this season! Fleury should solidify the crease area for a Chicago team looking to make a huge leap up in the standings in 2021-22. Fleury enters the final year of his contract in search of another Stanley Cup.
What does it give the Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights did well to unload all of Fleury's $7 million cap hit in this deal. All they received in return was minor-league center Hakkarainen (who was probably included in this deal so that Chicago could dump a contracted player to stay under the 50-player limit). Robin Lehner is now the clear starter.
Fantasy impact
Fleury's numbers should suffer moving from the league's top defense to an offensive-minded squad like Chicago, but he was unlikely to repeat his magical 2020-21 performance anyway. Lehner's stock improves greatly now that Fleury is in Chicago, though there will be a lot of pressure on his shoulders to duplicate what his older former partner did in '20-21.
