The Chicago Blackhawks are acquiring veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the Vegas Golden Knights, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.
The Golden Knights will not be retaining any of Fleury's $7 million salary, and only minor leaguer Mikael Hakkarainen is going to Vegas. Robin Lehner will be taking over as the top goalie for the Golden Knights, while Fleury is reportedly going to take some time before making a decision on his Blackhawks future.
There has been chatter that Fleury would retire if Vegas traded him, but nothing is set in stone. More details on the deal here:
Marc-Andre Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, says the goalie plans to take time and discuss with his family before deciding what he will do next season.
There was some talk that MAF may retire if he was traded from Vegas. Explains the very low return from the Blackhawks.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) July 27, 2021
The Blackhawks are continuing to retool their roster as they move on from their Stanley Cup-winning years. They recently traded Duncan Keith away in a deal involving Caleb Jones, and then they acquired Caleb's brother, Seth, not long after.
Chicago didn't make the playoffs this past season and didn't have Jonathan Toews throughout due to a medical issue. The Blackhawks were one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, so upgrading the goaltending makes sense.
Fleury won the Vezina Trophy this past season as the league's best goaltender. The Golden Knights allowed just 124 goals on the season, the fewest in the NHL, and reached the Stanley Cup Semifinals before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
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