NHL Rumors: Blackhawks in on Marc-Andre Fleury; Mike Hoffman hits market; and Bruins let Nick Ritchie walk
Anthony Scultore
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The Chicago Blackhawks interest in goalie Marc-Andre Fleury seems to be gaining steam. With the Golden Knights looking for cap space to address deficiencies on offense, they are going to break up their goaltending tandem.
Marc-Andre Fleury has just one year remaining on his deal and makes the most sense to move at this time.
NHL Rumors: Blackhawks interested in Fleury
Scott Powers of The Athletic said a source informed him the Blackhawks were interested in Marc-Andre Fleury just after the Duncan Keith deal. The 36 year-old won the Vezina Trophy and has a modified no-trade clause of 10 teams. It’s believed he would gladly join Chicago.
Elliotte Friedman is now noting that the Knights had a potential trade fall through but wasn’t sure if it was Robin Lehner to the Devils/Red Wings or Fleury to Chicago. Keep an eye on this one.
Mike Hoffman hitting the market
Hoffman, 31, struggled this season but came on late for the Blues. He finished with 36 points in 52 games and will help several teams looking for some scoring.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that the Blues will be one of those teams. According to David Pagnotta, Hoffman turned down an offer from St. Louis and will hit the market.
The goal scoring winger took a one year deal with the Blues and does not have interest in another short-term contract. It’s said he wants at least 4-5 years and at over $5M AAV.
Bruins fo not qualify Nick Ritchie
In a bit of a surprising move, the Bruins did not qualify forward Nick Ritchie. He is now a 25 year-old UFA and will garner a lot of interest on Wednesday.
This past season was a good one for him as he notched 26 points in 56 games for the B’s. Ritchie is considered a quality 3rd line guy that should be snatched up pretty quick.
