Going into this season, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is in his last year of his contract that he signed in the 07-08 season. He will make five million this season. There were questions as to whether or not the Penguins trust him being the goaltender this year and it seems that Jim Rutherford intends on him being the starter this season to see if Fleury can prove that he can be the goaltender for the next few years or so. Should the Penguns resign Fleury to another deal during or after the season? It's tough to say but let's see.
Marc-Andre Fleury is going to have to have a great regular season and an outstanding playoffs if he is to convince Jim Rutherford to sign him to an extension. He has not performed well in the playoffs recently until this year where he actually had a good playoffs, it was his first time he posted a save percentage above 900 since 2009 when the Penguins won the cup.
He needs to have a save percentage this year of about 930 or higher if he wants new management to extend him. He's been average over the past couple seasons but I have faith that he will get the job done this year. New goaltending coach Mike Bales did a great job of helping Fleury this year and it should continue into next year.
The biggest thing to consider after this season is the better options that the Penguins have for goaltending next year. The biggest three goaltenders contracts who are up after this season are Antti Niemi, Ben Bishop, and Craig Anderson. Anderson would be the ideal scenario for most Penguin fans because of how he's done in Ottawa. Ben Bishop is most likely to resign back in Tampa but it would be awesome to have a Vezina trophy candidate on the Penguins roster.
Niemi has been solid for San Jose but has had a dropoff over the past couple seasons. If I had to make a decision on whether to sign Fleury or not, right now I would say no. There are just better goaltenders after the end of next season. If he has a great season like he did in 07-08, then I would love for the Penguins to extend him. We'll see how Fleury plays this season and see what Jim Rutherford's decision will be after the season is over.