#8 – Marc-Andre Fleury
If the Toronto Maple Leafs were to lose Jack Campbell, there’s no doubt that Dubas would take a shot at finding a trustworthy replacement. Goaltending has been a concern for weeks in Toronto thanks to the poor play of Campbell (prior to injury) and Petr Mrazek. At the trade deadline, the team tried to fix the hole by signing Marc-Andre Fleury in a monster trade that was never finalized.
The Toronto Maple Leafs tried to ride Erik Kallgren to some wins only to determine that he is not the team’s savior. They need help keeping pucks out of their net and the best way to do that is by signing a proven goalkeeper. With three Stanley Cups and a Vezina Trophy, there aren’t many more established options than Fleury.
This year, playing with the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, Fleury has a combined goal-against average of 2.93 and a save percentage of .908. Playing with a stronger defense core, may have helped those numbers improve even more.
At age 37, Fleury should be far more affordable in the offseason after his $7 million AAV expires. The Leafs would want to lock Fleury up on a short-term deal. The best case scenario for Toronto would be to keep Campbell and sign Fleury while moving Mrazek to get his contract off the books. There’s no doubt Coach Sheldon Keefe would like to feel more comfortable about his group getting big stops when they’re needed most. It’s something that Fleury can deliver.