By Canadian Press

Wild acquire Marc-Andre Fleury; Johansson back to Caps

Mar 21, 2022 | 11:28 AM

The Minnesota Wild addressed their inconsistent goaltending situation by acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

The deal was confirmed by a person with direct knowledge of the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the deal, made hours before the NHL’s trade deadline, had not yet been announced.

The Wild are in the midst of a tightly contested Western Conference playoff race, and began the day third in the Central Division standings. In Fleury, they add a three-time Stanley Cup-winner who, at 36, won his first Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie last year while playing for the Vegas Golden Knights. He was traded to Chicago last offseason.

The playoff-bound Minnesota Wild acquired a second-round pick in the draft this summer from the rebuilding Arizona Coyotes for unsigned prospect Jack McBain, who represented Canada at the Beijing Olympics without NHL players.

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— Marcus Johansson is heading back to the team that drafted him. The Washington Capitals acquired Johansson from the expansion Seattle Kraken, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation who also spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.

Johansson, who signed with Seattle last summer, is on his sixth team since the Capitals traded him to New Jersey in the summer of 2017. The 31-year-old has six goals and 23 points in 51 games for the Kraken.

Johansson was a 2009 first-round pick of the Capitals, and he played his first seven NHL seasons with Washington.

— The Pittsburgh Penguins gave up a conditional seventh-round pick in this year’s draft to shore up their depth at defense by acquiring Nathan Beaulieu from the Winnipeg Jets.

The Penguins, who opened the day third in the Metropolitan Division standings, made the move with an eye on the playoffs. Beaulieu, who is in the final year of his contract, is sidelined by a lower-body injury sustained earlier this month. He will remain on long-term injured reserve.

He has four assists in 24 games this season. Overall, Beaulieu has 12 goals and 94 points in 419 career NHL games over 10 seasons, which included stops in Montreal and Buffalo.

— One goaltender who was thought to be available came off the market five hours before the deadline when Anton Forsberg re-signed with the Ottawa Senators. Forsberg inked an $8.25 million, three-year deal to stay in Canada’s capital.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed.

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John Wawrow, The Associated Press