GM Marc Bergevin can now focus attention on NHL Draft and free agency after Seattle Kraken take defenceman Cale Fleury in expansion draft.
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Cale Fleury will have a fun story to tell his kids and grandkids in the future about how he was selected over Carey Price at the 2021 NHL expansion draft.
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There was a lot of excitement and anticipation the day before the expansion draft that officially started at 8 p.m. Wednesday, but the names of players selected by Seattle started to be leaked by hockey insiders shortly after the 10 a.m. deadline for the Kraken to submit their list to the NHL.
Shortly after TV coverage of the draft began it was made official the Kraken had taken Fleury, a 22-year-old defenceman who spent this season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, and not Price, who was also left unprotected by the Canadiens. The 33-year-old goalie has five seasons remaining on his eight-year, US$84-million contract. The annual salary-cap hit of $10.5 million for Price, along with injury concerns and his inconsistent play over the last couple of seasons, made the Kraken go in another direction when selecting their goalies.
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The three goalies the Kraken picked were Chris Driedger from the Florida Panthers, Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals and Joey Daccord from the Ottawa Senators. Those three had a combined salary-cap hit of $2.317 million this season.
“Any time you see the name like Carey Price available you have to consider it,” Seattle GM Ron Francis said after selecting Fleury. “Certainly we did that. We had a lot of discussions and, at the end of the day, we made the decision that we did to go in a different direction.”
Fleury played 22 games with the Rocket this season, notching six assists and a plus-9. He played 41 games with the Canadiens during the 2019-20 season and scored one goal before being sent down to Laval, where he had 2-3-5 totals in 14 games. The Canadiens selected the 6-foot-1, 213-pounder in the third round (87th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft. Fleury is coming off a three-year, two-way contract and is a restricted free agent. His three-year deal paid him US$70,000 in the AHL and had a $771,666 annual salary-cap hit in the NHL.
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The Kraken also selected Fleury’s 25-year-old brother, Haydn, a defenceman from the Anaheim Ducks.
Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin decided to leave Price unprotected after the goalie agreed to waive the no-movement clause in his contract for the expansion draft, protecting backup goalie Jake Allen instead. It was a gamble, but now Price and Allen will both stay with the Canadiens.
“Next year I want to be able to come in and do the same thing for (Price),” Allen said during his exit interview after the Canadiens lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup final. “If he’s going to play 50, 55 games, I want to take those 30 games and play well and make sure he’s always sharp. We can see how good he is when he’s sharp and he’s on his game, he’s a difference-maker and there’s not many goalies in the league that have that difference-making ability.”
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Price had an inconsistent regular season with a 12-7-5 record, a 2.64 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Allen had an 11-12-5 record with a 2.68 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Price found his game in the playoffs, going 13-9 with a 2.28 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
When Bergevin was asked ahead of the Stanley Cup final about the difference between Price in the regular season and the playoffs, he said: “I guess the expression we could use he’s a big-game player. He rises to the occasion. He does extremely well under pressure. The big moments, the Olympics, he was outstanding. I was part of the management team at the World Cup, he was outstanding. When the game’s on the line … I think they had a poll at some point in the past (with NHL players) that if you need a big game to win who do you want to be your goaltender? It’s Carey Price.”
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Bergevin has built his team around Price and captain Shea Weber, who was also left unprotected for the expansion draft. Pierre LeBrun reported on the Athletic website Tuesday that Price has a doctor’s appointment Thursday in New York for his knee, which might need surgery, and will also have a hip issue examined. There have also been reports Weber won’t be able to play next season — and possibly longer — because of thumb, ankle, foot and knee injuries. Weber has five seasons left on his 14-year, US$114-million contact with an annual salary-cap hit of $7.857 million. Price’s and Weber’s contracts will account for 23 per cent of the Canadiens’ payroll with a flat $81.5-million NHL salary cap.
With the expansion draft out of the way, Bergevin can now focus on this weekend’s NHL Draft, in which he has 11 picks, including the 31st overall in the first round Friday night. Then comes NHL free agency, which begins next Wednesday with the Canadiens expected to lose Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar, which will free up money for Bergevin to do some shopping himself.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL21vbnRyZWFsZ2F6ZXR0ZS5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2hvY2tleS9uaGwvaG9ja2V5LWluc2lkZS1vdXQvc3R1LWNvd2FuLWNhbmFkaWVucy1jYW4tbW92ZS1mb3J3YXJkLXdpdGgtY2FyZXktcHJpY2UtYW5kLWpha2UtYWxsZW7SAbIBaHR0cHM6Ly9tb250cmVhbGdhemV0dGUuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9ob2NrZXkvbmhsL2hvY2tleS1pbnNpZGUtb3V0L3N0dS1jb3dhbi1jYW5hZGllbnMtY2FuLW1vdmUtZm9yd2FyZC13aXRoLWNhcmV5LXByaWNlLWFuZC1qYWtlLWFsbGVuL3djbS8zYmNlMjU0Zi05ODNhLTQwNjMtYWI1ZS0xN2U2NTAwNmZhMzIvYW1wLw?oc=5
2021-07-22 01:07:30Z
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