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Golden Knights Coach Hints Lehner and Fleury Tandem Won’t Be Back

Vegas Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer seemed to hint that one of Marc-Andre Fleury or Robin Lehner won’t be back next season.

If there was speculation that one of Marc-Andre Fleury or Robin Lehner were going to be traded this offseason before, there’s certainly buzz about a potential deal after the comments made by Vegas Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer. Speaking with the media after his team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens, DeBoer seemed to insinuate that the luxury of having both Lehner and Fleury was not a luxury the team would have again.

As per a Twitter post by Jesse Granger of The Athletic, he writes:

DeBoer says the goalie tandem with Fleury and Lehner was a blessing this season, and an integral part of their success, but ends with “Next year is a different year” and mentioned they won’t be in the unique situation with a condensed schedule again.

Comments on the post immediately assumed DeBoer was suggesting one of the players would not be back. A couple of insiders have said the same. Notably, Elliotte Friedman recently commented during an Oilers Now segment with Bob Stauffer that Vegas tried to move Fleury to the Pittsburgh Penguins this past offseason via way of Anaheim or Los Angeles and there’s a belief they’ll try to do so again.

The Golden Knights need centers and moving Fleury will go a long way to helping the team acquire a top-notch pivot.

Fleury Is the Better Option to Move

As strong a season as Fleury had and as much as he’s viewed as one the main reasons Vegas played as well as they did, as a Vezina Trophy Finalist, he’s the more attractive and more coveted goaltender by other teams. Despite his $7 million price tag, teams will certainly look at Fleury, especially considering he holds little trade protection and will submit a list of 10-teams he’s not interested in playing for.

Robin Lehner Marc-Andre Fleury Golden Knights Upper Deck
Robin Lehner Marc-Andre Fleury Golden Knights Upper Deck

Further to it, if Vegas is willing to retain any salary in the trade (it won’t be much), there will be a number of teams happy to grab Fleury for at least one season, knowing he solidifies their netminding situation. The question will be, how much will a team be willing to give up knowing Fleury only has one more season and may lean towards exploring a deal with the Penguins to finish out his NHL career?

Next: Tkachuk Trade Not Imminent, But Certainly Possible Says Insider

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3 Comments

  1. Pingback: Golden Knights to Explore Possibility of Adding Jack Eichel Via Trade

  2. Pingback: Golden Knights to Explore Possibility of Adding Jack Eichel Via Trade – Hockey 1 on 1

  3. Pingback: Should the Oilers Take a Patience Approach to Free Agency This Summer? - Beer League Heroes

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