Report says Avs could sign a former Vezina winner, is that still an option?

The Colorado Avalanche made a big move on Thursday morning, trading three draft picks to the New York Rangers in exchange for goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

Right after the trade went down, multiple reports came out saying the move marked the end of Darcy Kuemper’s time in Colorado, as the Avalanche can no longer afford the Stanley Cup winning goaltender. Avs GM Joe Sakic met with Kuemper’s agent on Wednesday, but clearly the goalie was too expensive for Sakic to keep.

Colorado still has key free agents Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky and Josh Manson that they will look at bringing back. Throw in the fact Artturi Lehkonen is a restricted free agent, and not everyone was going to get paid. Letting Kuemper walk and rolling with a combo of Georgiev and backup Pavel Francouz seems to be Sakic’s plan.

But before the trade and the Kuemper reports came out, top NHL insider Pierre LeBrun dropped an interesting nugget on about another goaltender set to hit the open market.

Minnesota, Toronto, Colorado (if Kuemper doesn’t sign), Washington and perhaps Pittsburgh all possibilities for Marc-Andre Fleury ahead of next Wednesday’s market opening. Obviously the Wild hope to re-sign him before that happens.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 7, 2022

Marc-André Fleury is one of the better goalies in the NHL and has been for some time. He won the Vezina Trophy with the Vegas Golden Knights during the 2020-21 season, a year in which they beat the Avalanche in Round 2 of the playoffs. Fleury played the final five games of that series, registering a 4-1 record against Colorado.

He’s been in the NHL for 18 seasons and made four All-Star teams, plus was on three different Stanley Cup squads with Pittsburgh (2009, 2016, 2017). He was the former No. 1 overall pick by the Penguins in 2003.

Fleury bounced around last year, going from Chicago to Minnesota at the trade deadline and ultimately losing in Round 1 to the Blues. The Wild “benched” Fleury near the end of the series as the team looked for a spark, but it didn’t work out. Age is certainly a factor, as Fleury is 37-years-old and will turn 38 in November.

Again, this report came out before the Georgiev trade, so that could change things with Fleury potentially being a fit in Colorado. Or maybe not.

Does Sakic really want to defend a Stanley Cup with two backup goalies next season? Or could he still look to bring in a veteran like Fleury to compete for the job? Fleury’s .908 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average were hardly the best of his career in 2021-22, but he did spend the majority of his time with a bad Blackhawks team.

The situation will be fascinating to watch play out, but it’s Sakic, and he’s proven time and again he’s more than capable of pushing the right buttons. The Avalanche, as they have been for a long time, are in good hands. And whether or not Sakic adds a third goalie to the mix before training camp now becomes a major question for the rest of the offseason.

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