At this point in his career, Marc-Andre Fleury is quite possibly one of the most recognizable names in the game of hockey today. He's played 18 years in the National Hockey League thus far, is likely a Hall of Famer and from what has been said about him, is also one of the most liked teammates of all time if you were to ask any of his peers. So, how does one go about trading a player of his calibre? Let's take a look, shall we?
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on the 32 thoughts podcast, the thing that re-started the conversation between the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks, negotiations that appeared to be dead in the water, was the Brandon Hagel trade from Chicago to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Wild General manager Bill Guerin saw the return Chicago got for Hagel (mainly the two first-round picks) and decided he would try again to acquire Fleury, only this time he would have something to base his price on. Guerin went back to Chicago and offered a second-round pick and left it in the hands of Chicago GM Kyle Davidson. The deal required a little extra work but would eventually be good enough to land Fleury in a Wild uniform before the day ended.
Opinion: As the deadline progresses, the price for assets (players) begins to drop steadily. I don't think anyone ever expected the return for Marc-Andre Fleury to be so little. Primarily considering the trade proposal leaked for MAF if he were to have been acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
