Here are Flower's thoughts after the deal that brought him to Chicago
Marc-André Fleury has confirmed that he will remain at his starting position with the Chicago Blackhawks. Many analysts had talked about retirement for the Quebecer who was recently traded to the Hawks.
It is mainly because of the strange circumstances of his transaction that the retirement was brought on the table. Fleury, who won the Vézina Trophy this season, was traded for Mikael Hakkarainen, a player who had no points in 14 games in the AHL. In addition to that, the Sorel native learned the news via his agent who discovered it on his Twitter account.
"My agent called me and told me that the news was circulating on Twitter. That's how I found out. I don't have any social media, so I don't look at that stuff. He knows that, that's why he called me."
Above all else, what was important to the former first overall pick in 2003 was making the right decision not only for himself, but for those around him.
"It was a little crazy, wasn't it? Certainly, there were a lot of things that went into it. I'm glad Stan gave me the time to think about what I wanted to do, what was best for me and my family."
After making the decision to continue his career in Chicago, Fleury reassured Blackhawks fans that none of this was personal.
"I had nothing against Chicago and the organization. It was just about me, personally. I talked to a lot of guys and they told me a lot of good things about the team," explained the Quebecer in a press conference.
Fleury had a great season in 2020-2021, breaking his personal records for goals against average (1.98) and save percentage (0.928%). He also presents a 26-10 record, which put him ahead of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Phillip Grubauer for goalie of the year.
The Chicago Blackhawks will certainly be ready for the battle next season due to the additions to their roster this summer. In addition to Fleury, Bowman also signed defenseman Seth Jones to an 8-year contract that will pay him $9.5 million annually. In short, we could see a comeback for this team that won two Stanley Cup in the last few years.
