According to reports, the Penguins have been trying to get Marc-Andre Fleury back to Pittsburgh since the off season, but his current team isn’t budging.
TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie reported earlier this week that then general manager Jim Rutherford tried “very hard” to get Fleury back in the offseason and that “as recently as the last couple of weeks,” interim GM Patrik Allvin was trying to make a deal happen.
Penguins insider Rob Rossi of The Athletic, says he heard there were “conversations” but doesn’t know if “an actual trade was proposed.”
Fleury told Rossi during the offseason that he would be interested in retiring as a member of the Penguins.
“He would be happy to have that go from if he’s sharing a job now to eventually sort of being the veteran backup and sort of mentor and he’s a big fan professionally and personally of Tristian Jarry, so there’s a lot of ‘there’ there,” said Rossi.
Rossi says interest or talks could once again start up with Ron Hextall now the team’s general manager.
But a deal for Fleury would be a complicated and Vegas would need Pittsburgh to eat a healthy chunk of his salary.
Fleury carries a $7 million cap hit this season and next season and he’s making $6.5 million this year and $6 million next year (the last year of his contract).
“I’m not sure there’s a whole lot the Penguins want, there are big pieces here that could move to make it work cap-wise, but it would be a real difficult thing to do cap-wise without getting a third team involved,” said Rossi.
Fleury is currently 5-1 this season with a .929 save percentage.
Jarry is 2-4 this season with a .847 save percentage, Casey DeSmith has 4 of the 6 wins for the Penguins this season.