Marc-Andre Fleury Traded to Wild from Blackhawks for Conditional 1st-Round Pick

The Minnesota Wild officially announced the acquisition of veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, sending the Chicago Blackhawks a conditional first-round draft pick.

The pick will remain a first if the Wild reach the Western Conference Finals and Fleury earns four total wins in the first two rounds, via Larry Hawley of WGN. Chicago will otherwise receive only a second-round pick from Minnesota.

"Excited to play hockey," Fleury said after the trade, via Vince Sapienza of Fox5 Vegas. "Looking forward to being there and see what happens."

Chicago's decision to acquire Fleury raised eyebrows at the time, partly because it wasn't immediately clear whether the 37-year-old would actually suit up for the Blackhawks.

The Athletic's Rob Rossi, Scott Powers, Mark Lazerus reported in July he was "totally shocked" by his trade from the Vegas Golden Knights and "doesn't want to play there" in reference to his new team.

The Blackhawks were also a franchise on the way down, having missed the playoffs in three out of the last four years. Fleury might have been the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, but he was also in the last year of a contract that pays him $7 million in 2021-22.

Between that trade and Seth Jones' eight-year, $76 million extension, it was an odd offseason in the Windy City.

Despite the best efforts of the front office, the Blackhawks are seventh in the Central Division with 53 points, making a trip to the postseason unlikely.

Because of that, there was little reason to think Fleury would finish the year in Chicago. While his contract includes a modified no-trade clause, one assumed he would prefer to suit up for a contender before hitting the open market again in the offseason.

And there was little doubt as to his value for a team aiming to lift the Stanley Cup.

His 2.95 goals-against average is on pace to be his highest since 2016-17, but his .908 save percentage is closer to his career average (.912). His high number of goals allowed is partially attributable to the fact that he has faced the seventh-most shots (1,398) in the league.

Expecting to get the Vezina Trophy version of Fleury is unrealistic. His performance had been trending in the wrong direction before 2020-21, so that's likely to be an outlier at this stage of his career.

But the three-time Stanley Cup winner continues to be effective between the pipes, and there's no question about whether he can thrive in the playoffs.

Fleury will help fortify the Wild's defense and give them a great 1-2 combo in goal with Cam Talbot. Minnesota entered Monday third in the NHL in goals scored per game but ranks just 22nd in goals allowed.

The new addition could help the team get over the top as a contender in the West.