Vegas Golden Knights: Over-reliance on Marc-Andre Fleury could be costly

Marc-Andre Fleury has been brilliant for the Vegas Golden Knights. But it’s alarming how much they’re using him.

The Vegas Golden Knights are back in the postseason hunt after a slow start. A huge reason for this has been the outstanding play of franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. His brilliance has carried over from last season, as he has won 11 of his last 15 starts with a .914 save percentage during that span.

However, the Golden Knights should be alarmed about Fleury. And it has nothing to do with his play. Fleury’s been a rock for the Knights when they’ve needed him. However, the team’s over-reliance on him could wind up costing them.

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So far, Fleury has appeared in 28 of the 32 games the Knights have played. He’s only been pulled once. Fleury has played in 87.5 percent of his team’s games, which is the highest among any goaltender. If he continues at this rate, he’ll appear in 72 games (well, 71.75 games, but I rounded it up). Moreover, Fleury has appeared in back-to-back games twice this season and both sets have come in the past month.

You could argue the Knights are justified to use him this much, but none of the reasons make much sense under the microscope. Some have argued the Golden Knights need points, so they should naturally go with Fleury. A lot of teams need points. But none of them are using their starting goalie as much as the Knights are using Fleury.

Others might argue Malcolm Subban (who has a .859 in five appearances) hasn’t been trustworthy in net. Yes, this is true. But if the Golden Knights don’t trust him, why even have him on the roster? Also, Subban was outstanding last season. So it’s a bit baffling the Knights would turn so quickly on him.

Fleury’s workload so far has been heavy for any goalie. But especially one who just recently turned 34 years old. Age typically isn’t kind to goaltenders. Goalies like Fleury who have success past the age of 33 are the exception and not the rule.

Age gets the best of everyone eventually. There’s a very good chance the Golden Knights are expediting the end of Fleury’s career unless they can manage his minutes more efficiently.

But forget long-term because Vegas wants to win now. Who doesn’t? Well, overusing Fleury makes very little sense short-term as well. Let’s take a look at every Stanley Cup winner since the 2004-05 lockout and see how many games their goalies who won them the Cup played during the regular season. You’ll quickly see a trend.

2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes: Cam Ward* (28 games)
2006-07 Anaheim Ducks: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (56 games)
2007-08 Detroit Red Wings: Chris Osgood (43 games)
2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins: Fleury (62 games)
2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks: Antti Niemi* (39 games)
2010-11 Boston Bruins: Tim Thomas (57 games)
2011-12 Los Angeles Kings: Jonathan Quick (69** games)
2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks: Corey Crawford (30 games***)
2013-14 Kings: Quick (49 games)
2014-15 Blackhawks: Crawford (57 games)
2015-16 Pittsburgh Penguins: Matt Murray* (13 games)
2016-17 Penguins: Murray* (49 games) and Fleury (38 games)
2017-18 Washington Capitals: Braden Holtby (54 games)

*rookie goaltender
**nice
***48 game season. Over an 82 game season, Crawford would have started 51 games.

The trend isn’t hard to see. And no, it’s not “you should have a rookie goalie”. You need good goaltending to win a Stanley Cup. You’re more likely to get good goaltending if your goalie isn’t used too much. Quick is the only outlier and even then, he was 26 years old when he was the outlier. Fleury, on the other hand, is currently 34 years old.

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Could he be a guy like Quick who can show superhuman durability and endurance by leading the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup while playing a ton during the regular season? It’s plausible. But the numbers show it certainly isn’t likely. They also show the Golden Knights better find a way to manage Fleury’s minutes or it might cost them another chance at the Stanley Cup.

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