Veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will return to the Vegas Golden Knights after signing a three-year $21 million extension on Friday.
The 33-year-old Fleury is set to receive an average of $7 million per year until the 2021-22 season. Fleury provided a great contribution for the Golden Knights as he averaged a career-high of 2.24 goals against average while posting an efficient .927 saving percentage rate.
Fleury was selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft last summer. Prior to joining the Golden Knights, Fleury was a backup goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished last season with a record of 29-13-4.
"I guess you guys will be stuck with me for a little longer. I'm really excited about it. My family and I really love Vegas, the organization, my teammates." Fleury said on Twitter.
Big Help For The Golden Knights
Fleury is expected to provide veteran leadership to the Golden Knights squad who made it through the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in the league. Fleury had a remarkable year last season for the Golden Knights as he posted four shutouts in 20 postseason games.
The 2003 first-round pick was instrumental to the success of the Penguins in the league as he helped the squad win three Stanley Cups. Additionally, Fleury has a career record of 404-229-70 to go along with 2.56 GAA and a brilliant save percentage of .913. The 13-year veteran has 404 career wins in his bag which is ranked 11th in the history of the National Hockey League.
Pundits Say Fleury Is Too Old
While Fleury has recaptured his magic last season, CBS Sports journalist Pete Blackburn says that the signing of the three-time Stanley Cup winner was still questionable. Blackburn said that the Golden Knights are taking a major risk by signing Fleury into a three-year deal most especially since he will be 35 years old when the three-year extension kicks in.
It will also make Fleury the third highest-paid goalie in the NHL. Deadspin writer Barry Petchesky added that the new deal of Fleury is the richest annual contract of the goaltender's life.
Nonetheless, Petchesky believes that among the reasons as to why the Golden Knights decided to bring the aging star back was their amount of cap space left. Currently, the Golden Knights have around $17 million in cap space for next season. In addition, the team has less than $40 million in salary guaranteed for the 2019-20 season which includes the initial year of Fleury's deal.
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