It really would be quite a story if the future Hall of Famer with a Vezina Trophy on his resume would join the Penguins for a final run at a Stanley Cup, wouldn't it?
No, not him.
Oh sure, Marc-Andre Fleury ending up back with the Penguins would have been quite a twist in his storied career,
Trouble is, the Blackhawks, who acquired him from Vegas last week, have convinced Fleury to set aside his reservations about relocating his family and agree to play in Chicago.
He’s in 🌸#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/2RTjG7UGLe
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) August 1, 2021
And even if he hadn't, there's no guarantee the Penguins would have seriously explored trying to acquire him, let alone that they'd have had the salary-cap space or assets needed to make such a deal realistic.
Fact is, there was very little reason to ever think that Fleury would be playing here next season.
And there probably is even less to think that another celebrated veteran will be joining them.
That would be Henrik Lundqvist, whose career is on hold -- and might well be over -- because of a heart condition diagnosed shortly after he signed with Washington as a free agent before last season.
Lundqvist, who had open-heart surgery, is an unrestricted free agent, but has yet to receive the medical clearance needed to sign with a team, even though he returned to on-ice workouts months ago.
Nonetheless, he's made it clear that, at age 39, he wants to continue playing and if health issues don't short-circuit a return, some team likely will take a chance on him.
Could it be the Penguins? Should it be?
Lundqvist, known as "King Henrik" for much of his 15-year run with the New York Rangers, clearly isn't the player he was when he won the Vezina in 2012 (he was a finalist four other times), as evidenced by the fact that he had the only losing records (18-23-10 and 10-12-3) of his career during his most two recent seasons.
His goals-against averages (3.07 and 3.16) and save percentages (.907 and .905) were career-worsts in those seasons, as well.
Logic suggests that spending a year away from the game -- let alone one spent dealing with a serious medical issue -- probably hasn't done much to sharpen his skills.
He certainly couldn't be expected to perform effectively in 50-plus games, as he did for most of time his time in Manhattan.
But Lundqvist has long insisted that his failure to win a Stanley Cup has left a gaping void on his list of career accomplishments, and that seemed to be a major factor in his decision to sign a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Capitals in 2020.
Mind you, simply wanting to win a Cup does not mean a player is capable of contributing to making it happen, but if the Penguins have significant concerns about relying on the goaltending tandem of Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith -- Ron Hextall has said repeatedly that the team is not looking to make a change at that position -- might it be worth gambling on Lundqvist, if the medical professionals allow him to get back into the game?
He wouldn't be a threat to Jarry's job as the go-to goaltender, if only because it wouldn't be realistic to expect Lundqvist to carry the workload of a No. 1 guy for an extended period, even if his performance level was worthy of it.
He could, however, be a valuable mentor for Jarry and, should Jarry go into another playoff flame-out, Lundqvist would give the Penguins a highly motivated veteran to whom they could turn to try to keep their season alive.
It would be a most unlikely partnership -- there never has been any particular expression of affection for Lundqvist by the Penguins, or vice versa -- but hey, the Penguins' GM made his reputation playing for the arch-rival Flyers, and once-loathed opponents such as Rick Tocchet and Darius Kasparaitis were embraced by the fanbase once they were traded here.
Regardless, there are numerous factors that could render the entire issue moot.
Lundqvist's health. A lack of interest by the Penguins in signing him. A lack of interest by Lundqvist in playing here.
It is, then, awfully hard to imagine that Lundqvist ever will pull on a Penguins sweater.
Tougher, even, that it would have been to imagine a week ago that Vegas would purge Marc-Andre Fleury from its roster.
