Could the Wild trade Fleury at the Deadline

Could the Wild trade Marc-Andre Fleury at the trade deadline if they are out of a playoff spot and what teams make sense?

After a lot of speculation recently a question has arisen on if the Wild would trade Marc-Andre Fleury at the NHL Trade Deadline if they are out of a playoff spot. 

The Wild are currently 14 points out of third place in the central division behind the Winnipeg Jets. If they were to make the playoffs it would probably be with a wild card spot which they are three points out of but many of the teams in front of them have games in hand.

If the Wild were on pace to miss the playoffs by the trade deadline day, one would think that President of Hockey Operations and Wild General Manager Bill Guerin would entertain the idea of possibly trading the veteran goaltender. 

But Fleury has a full no-trade clause so the only way Guerin could trade him is if Fleury waives his no-trade clause. The 39-year-old goaltender basically holds his future in his hands. If he wants to be traded he can let Guerin know what teams he'd be open to be moved to. If not, then Fleury will remain on the Wild for the rest of the season. 

Pittsburgh might've made sense just for Fleury to possibly end his career there but the Penguins aren't trending in the direction of the playoffs and might look to trade some of their pieces rather than buy. Plus Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic have been good. 

What teams make sense?

The Avalanche would make the most sense to me but would Fleury waive his no-trade clause to go to Colorado would be the question. There were also some reports suggesting the Avalanche to be in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen.

If Colorado goes through with that and trades for Allen, that would pretty much put the end to Fleury going to Colorado. It would make sense for the Avalanche to pick up a backup who can start some games for them down the stretch. 

Alexandar Georgiev is their current starter and although he made the All-Star game, likely because of how many wins he has, the 6-foot-1 goaltender has a 2.94 goals-against-average and a .898 save percentage which isn't flashy at all. 

The Avalanche are a great team which is why Georgiev has been able to rack up the wins but he has also played in 45 of the Avalanche's 54 games this season. He needs a break and Fleury would give them that. 

Frederik Andersen was their starter before the year started but was later put on the Injured Reserve list with a blood clot issue. But the 34-year-old goaltender was working with the Hurricanes' full group for the first time since being diagnosed with his blood clotting issue in early November.

Antti Raanta started the year as the backup and later turned into the starter when Andersen was out. Raanta then struggled and was later placed on waivers and sent to the AHL. He spent some time down in the AHL and has been good since his callup but is now out for 2-3 weeks with an injury.

Pyotr Kochetkov has filled in nicely but the 24-year-old has received a lot of playing time recently. The Hurricanes did claim goaltender Spencer Martin off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets but his 3.52 goals-against-average and .889 save percentage might not give the Hurricanes a ton of confidence.

Fleury could take the pressure off Kochetkov until Andersen or Raanta come back and could even start a lot of games down the stretch. With the goaltender problems and injuries the Hurricanes have had this year, it might be worth exploring Fleury as a potential option but again it would all depend on what Fleury wants.

You also have to take into account that Fleury wants to play and doesn't really want to be a full-time backup let alone a third-string goaltender. 

Edmonton is in the same spot as the Avalanche. Maybe a little different though. The Oilers are paying two goaltenders a combined total of $7.6 Million and one of them is in the AHL right now making $5M for the next three years. 

Jack Campbell struggled when he got to the AHL but he's been better since. It is still hard to believe they would trust him in a must-win game if he had to start. They would likely be better off trusting Fleury for that. 

Stuart Skinner has been great for the Oilers but he has started 15 of the last 19 games. Calvin Pickard has been good in the nine games he's played this year but Fleury would add a veteran presence that could help push Skinner to play even better or allow the Oilers to give Skinner a break. 

Fleury also could start in the playoffs if Skinner gets hurt or his play slips. Which could happen considering the workload he has had recently. But Fleury would have to waive his no-move to go to Edmonton.

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