Will the Toronto Maple Leafs Target Marc-Andre Fleury?

According to Pierre LeBrun of the athletic, it would not be surprising if the Toronto Maple Leafs renewed their interest in Marc-Andre Fleury.

They supposedly almost dealt for him at the NHL trade deadline. Once the Toronto Maple Leafs were out of the running, Minnesota swooped in to acquire the veteran goaltender.

Leading up to the trade deadline, many were unsure if Fleury would wave his modified no-trade clause to come to Toronto. As the deadline became closer, according to LeBrun, Fleury was indeed willing to be dealt to the Leafs.

The Minnesota Wild sent a conditional second-round pick to Chicago for Fleury. That second-round pick would have become a first-round selection if the Wild made the conference finals and Fleury won four games in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Minnesota never made it to the second round, so the deal remains a second-round pick for Fleury.

Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas chose to use his 2022 second-round pick to acquire Giordano and Blackwell over Fleury. Some fans might not agree with that decision, but Giordano was a good pick-up for Toronto. A pick-up that has led to Giordano signing a two-year extension for $800,000 a season.
(Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)

Will Marc-Andre Fleury Sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs be a viable option for the veteran goaltender? We will find out once the free agency market opens on July 13th. He will have a few teams showing interest, but Toronto does have one thing in their favor, assuming they are even interested, which is their proximity to Fleury’s home.

Toronto does not have a ton of cap space, but they do have some flexibility, depending on what they want to do with some of their more expensive depth players.  Their interest in Fleury is likely contingent on him being willing to play for whatever amount they have in mind  – if he doesn’t come cheaper than Jack Campbell, what would be the point?  The Leafs may very well have interest in Fleury, but not to the extent that they will act like he’s the same goalie he was fiver years ago.

If the Leafs won’t meet Jack Campbell’s demands, it wouldn’t make very much sense to then turn around and pay Fleury based on his reputation.

Final Thoughts

I believe Toronto will try to re-sign Campbell up until July 13th. They will let him go if a deal is not reached by then.

Toronto will then move on to Plan B and try to sign a free agent goaltender. I think they will look at Ville Husso first, but if the price is too high, they will turn their attention to Fleury. We will find out for sure once free agency begins on July 13th.