The Vegas Golden Knights, specifically GM Kelly McCrimmon, is taking all sorts of heat on Tuesday after news leaked that Marc-Andre Fleury was being traded and the goaltender didn’t find out about the deal until after the trade was announced on social media. In fact, it was on Twitter that Fleury learned about the news of deal and wasn’t too pleased about it.
Vegas did not retain any of Marc-Andre Fleury’s salary ($7 million, through this season) and only minor leaguer Mikkael Mikael Hakkarainen is going back the other way.
Related: Vegas Golden Knights Trade Marc-Andre Fleury to Chicago Blackhawks
Reports surfaced that Fleury was being moved to the Chicago Blackhawks and there was potential he wouldn’t report to the team. He may end up going to Chicago to play out the final year of his deal, but some have speculated that he might retire instead and his agent Allan Walsh said:
While Marc-Andre Fleury still hasn’t heard from anybody with the Vegas Golden Knights, he has apparently been traded to Chicago. Marc-Andre will be taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time.
McCrimmon has responded to all the criticism in a media avail and said he spoke with Fleury numerous times about the possibility of being moved. It sounds like even Chicago was mentioned as a possible destination. The Vegas general manger said he told Fleury during exit interviews that he wasn’t sure what direction the team would go with their goaltending and that it was likely he could be traded. He kept him up to date on every team who expressed interest. He adds, they informed the player and his agent Allan Walsh about Chicago’s interest on July 12th.
McCrimmon added that when it comes to letting the goaltender know about the trade on Tuesday, the rumors hit Twitter before the trade call was completed. That’s the only reason Fleury found out on social media and not directly from the GM himself. As per Dan Rosen of NHL.com, “McCrimmon said he doesn’t inform players of the trade being completed until it is completed.”
As for why the trade was made, it came down to putting the best possible team on the ice and there’s a cap space component to that. He didn’t see the tandem of Robin Lehner and Fleury as the best possible duo moving forward.
The team will wants to finalize deals with a player like Alec Martinez and noted that there might be some action tomorrow in free agency or other trades the organization might be looking into.
McCrimmon took the time to thank Fleury for everything he brought to the team and called him one of the most popular players in any city he’s ever seen in the NHL. He had a tremendous impact on our organization, he had a tremendous impact on the city.
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