In mid-January, The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was potentially available via trade and that the the Capitals were interested in acquiring him.
Since then, through Elliotte Friedman’s reporting, we have learned that Fleury might not be comfortable coming to Washington in a trade because he is “still very much a Penguin.”
Seravalli backs that insider information with his latest column. Seravalli says the Capitals put on a “full court press” for Fleury but that the move does not look like it will come to fruition.
The Capitals are the third of eight Metro teams that are in the hunt for a goaltender. The difference is their need is urgent. They want a starting, Stanley Cup-caliber goaltender – someone allows coach Peter Laviolette to sleep soundly at night – and they wanted him yesterday. They put on the full court press for Marc-Andre Fleury, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen.
MAF has a 10-team no-trade list. While it’s unclear if the Capitals are on the list or not, it appears Fleury still feels the rivalry too much to want to try and win a Cup in Washington. If the Capitals are going to find a solution to their goaltending woes, they will have to look elsehwere.
Seravalli also mentions the possibility that the Caps are after a “jack-of-all-trades” forward and mentions Montreal’s Arturri Lehkonen as a stylistic fit. He also says that the team may consider the return of currently injured winger Anthony Mantha as sort of an internal trade deadline addition as he works back from shoulder surgery that he had in November.
S/T to @powerskateshow
Screenshot: @NHLBlackhawks/Instagram
