No. 3: Marc-Andre Fleury
Instead of wasting assets to acquire him at the NHL Trade Deadline this year, maybe the Leafs plan all-along was to sign Marc-Andre Fleury in the offseason?
Fleury’s age (37-years-old) is an issue but he’s still only one season removed from winning a Vezina Trophy. As a free agent, Fluery now has the ability to play anywhere he wants, so what better team to sign with than the Leafs?
As a Canadian, he’s never played in a Canadian market which may intrigue him, and he could be the missing feature of a Leafs line-up that has yet to reach a second round since 2004.
Fleury doesn’t need to play 60 games either which probably helps him.
As shown by Jack Campbell last year, he only played 49 games and the team still had their best regular season points total in franchise history. As such, Toronto only needs 40 regular season games out of Fleury and to guarantee that he’s healthy for the playoffs.
Fleury has three Stanley Cup rings and has played in five Stanley Cup Finals. That leadership and hunger to win in the biggest moments could be a huge advantage for a Leafs team that’s yet to get over the hump.