Marc-Andre Fleury details his decision to join the Chicago Blackhawks
Anthony Scultore
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Chicago acquired the 36-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury from the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade. The situation was made worse by the way Vegas handled the deal and not telling Fleury before it hit social media. This prompted his agent to release a statement.
“While Marc-Andre Fleury still hasn’t heard from anybody with the Vegas Golden Knights, he has apparently been traded to Chicago,” agent Allen Walsh said. “Marc-Andre will be taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time.”
Fleury was concerned about uprooting his family and was considering retirement instead of playing out the final season of his contract. After meeting with Blackhawks GM, Stan Bowman he changed his mind.
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Fleury details decision to play for Blackhawks
“There’s a lot that goes into [the decision],” Fleury said Wednesday via NHL.com. “I was very fortunate that they gave me some time to reflect on what I wanted to do, what was best for me and my family.”
Fleury is certainly ready to go as he sent a message directly to Blackhawks fans on social media. “Hey Chicago, it’s Marc,” he said stepping off the plane. “I just want to let you know I’m in. Let’s get to work.”
Yesterday, he wanted to make it clear that the time he needed to decide had nothing to do with the Hawks.
“I never had anything against Chicago, the organization,” he explained. “It was just me personally. I’ve talked to a bunch of guys and I keep hearing so many great things about the team, how they treat players and families. I thought Stan did a great job to gain some players over the summer, trying to make this team competitive right away, and that’s also very appealing.”
Marc-Andre Fleury will join the Blackhawks
Fleury won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2020-21 and was a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is due to earn $7 million in 2021-22.
Fleury went 26-10-0 with six shutouts to go along with a 1.98 goals-against average and a career-high .928 save percentage in 36 games this past season.
Fleury has posted a 492-276-2-80 record with 67 shutouts, a 2.55 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 883 career games. His win total ranks third all time, trailing only Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur (691) and Patrick Roy (551).
–Field Level Media contributed to this report.