Rutherford: Fleury wants to play, decision to likely come in final 48 hours

Jim Rutherford is shedding light on Marc-Andre Fleury's thought process ahead of Wednesday's trade deadline, and while no decision has been made about the goaltender's future, things are starting to become more clear.

"Based on my conversation with him here in the last day or so, it's very clear to me that he would like to get playing," the Penguins general manager told NHL Network at Heinz Field on Friday.

"We're going to communicate right up to the deadline, and that decision will be made probably within the 48 hours leading up to the deadline - what's best for him and what's best for the Penguins."

The veteran netminder hasn't garnered much interest from other clubs.

"We have not received any offers on him," Rutherford said. "Certainly teams have called over the course of the season asking a number of questions, but that's as far as it's gotten."

Fleury's sudden urge to increase his playing time is a departure from the attitude he's purportedly held since last spring, when he was supplanted as the Penguins' starter by Matt Murray, who continues to get more starts than his more experienced teammate.

"(Fleury) was really good last year with accepting his role in a tough situation for a guy who was a No. 1 goalie for a long time," Rutherford said. "And (now) he's back to that same role this year and he's handled it very well."

The GM has long stated that he'd prefer to keep both goalies through the end of this season, and he reiterated that Friday.

Fleury isn't a pending free agent, but the Penguins would still be better off getting something for him in a trade than losing him for nothing in the expansion draft this summer. If neither of those things happen, they'll be stuck with his $5.75-million cap hit for another two seasons.

From the sounds of it, the two-time Stanley Cup champion is starting to embrace the idea of taking on a larger role than he has now.