With Fleury trade, Wild boldly aim to fix biggest weakness

With the Marc-Andre Fleury trade, the Wild boldly aim to address their most glaring weakness: goaltending. If everything comes together, Fleury could truly be the missing piece for this Wild team … at least in the present.

While that’s a big “if,” it all makes a lot of sense for Minnesota.

Let’s dive into the ins and outs of the Wild landing Fleury in that trade, moving on from Kaapo Kähkönen, and the push-and-pull between the present and future.

Scan your memories and think of the last time there was a high-profile trade deadline move for a goalie. Who comes to mind? Maybe Ryan Miller? Then try to think of the last goalie moved this late in a season who actually paid off for the team that landed them.

The phrase “goalies are voodoo” gets thrown around a lot for good reason. Even in the most stable circumstances, a goalie’s highs and lows can be wildly unpredictable. Just about any player isn’t guaranteed to transition seamlessly to a new team, but that turbulence could be even tougher for a goalie to manage.

According to the NHL, of the 1,177 players traded on deadline day since 1980, just 26 have gone onto win the Stanley Cup that year.

Barclay Goodrow was the last in 2020.

— Joshua Clipperton (@JClipperton_CP) March 21, 2022

And let’s not forget: few goalies experience the extremes Marc-Andre Fleury represents year-to-year.

Marc-André Fleury, traded to MIN, is a wildly inconsistent veteran goalie who is beloved in the locker room and by fans. #MNWild pic.twitter.com/fEELj5RBBG

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 21, 2022

For much of this season, it’s been fascinating to wonder what the Wild could accomplish with above-average goaltending. At times, the Cam Talbot – Kaapo Kähkönen pairing survived, yet rarely thrived.