SERAVALLI: Marc-Andre Fleury opens up about departure from Vegas Golden Knights

By Frank Seravalli
CHICAGO — Marc-Andre Fleury smiled when asked about the Vegas Golden Knights because, well, that is what ‘Flower’ is predisposed to do. His impossibly white teeth are omnipresent in interviews and interactions with fans, part of which has helped make him not just one of the most popular personalities in the NHL – but “all of sports,” as his former general manager noted on the July 27 day he traded Fleury away.

And, in truth, Fleury is happy now – not quite two months on from the jaw-dropping deal that shook the hockey world. After days of deliberation about whether to continue his career, Fleury is still playing the game he loves. He is settled in Chicago now, living in Brent Seabrook’s old house. His three kids have found new schools and new soccer teams and they’re making new friends.
But Fleury’s big smile and happy-go-lucky grin masks a little bit of hurt that still lingers.
It’s not so much that the Golden Knights became the first team ever to trade the reigning Vezina Trophy winner for literally nothing. (Vegas terminated the contract of minor leaguer Mikael Hakkarainen, the only player acquired in the deal, just three weeks after the trade.)
What stings is how Fleury, the face of the franchise, was treated on the way out. Everyone knows now that Fleury found out on Twitter, the same way the rest of the world did. But it turns out that the ‘communication’ that Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon claimed was so open in the run up to the trade really was not, according to Fleury, who set the record straight in an interview with Daily Faceoff at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Chicago last week.
Fleury said that he had two conversations with McCrimmon beginning with the Golden Knights’ end-of-season exit meetings, both initiated by the player, and in both conversations McCrimmon said he “wasn’t sure” of his plans. Fleury said McCrimmon never said anything more than that he was considering his options.
“We had a year-end meeting right after the playoffs and we talked a bit about it. It’s something that had been in [rumors] a lot,” Fleury said. “But at the time, Kelly said he was going to look at all of the options. I think I then called him in early, mid-July to see what he was thinking, which way he was leaning. At the time, he wasn’t sure. He was listening to teams. He didn’t have a direct idea of what he wanted to do for next season. My agent had talked to him after the Draft and at that time, too, he was still unsure of what he wanted to do.
“Then I found out a few days later that I got traded.”
Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, said what hurt most was watching the news break on Twitter.
“The fact the trade call may not have been completed is a weak excuse,” Walsh told Daily Faceoff. “I’ve had plenty of calls from GMs on trades before the trade call was finished. ‘Flower’ was the face of the franchise, Vegas was everything to him. You think about honor and integrity, all that the Golden Knight stands for as the owner said. You would think someone would call and say: ‘Marc-Andre, we just want you to know we have a verbal agreement to trade you. We can discuss more later but just want to show you the respect of letting you know direct from us. Thank you for everything.’ It only needed to be 30 seconds. Flower had earned at least that much respect.”
That floored Fleury.
When asked how his unceremonious departure left him feeling, Fleury had to pause to collect his thoughts: “It was … a little different.”
He embraced Vegas with open arms from the night of the Expansion Draft, backstopped the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season and helped make them the most successful expansion franchise in recent pro sports history – only to then be discarded without so much as a courtesy call heads up.
“I was there from the start and trying to help the team get going,” Fleury said. “You make a good connection with players and staff and the fans. I feel like I tried my best to create that environment at the rink – or outside with fans and stuff. I’m glad I did. You know, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in hockey.”
All of that emotion is a big reason why Fleury needed to take a few days before deciding he wanted to continue his career in Chicago. Some players with young children opt to not uproot their family for one season, instead returning home during breaks in the schedule or to visit periodically. The Blackhawks offered to fly Fleury back and forth to Vegas during breaks in the schedule. That was a non-starter for Fleury. If he was going to be a Blackhawk, his kids were coming to Chicago, too.
“After playing in the bubble in Edmonton for basically two months, I just couldn’t see myself not seeing my kids for that long,” Fleury said. “I don’t like that. I like to have them with me.”
Fleury just thought it was going to be in Vegas.
“I thought I was going to retire there,” Fleury said. “The owner said it in the media last season, too. I know I don’t have many years left [to play], so I thought I could end up there, living there after hockey.”
The bloom is off that Flower now, all of which is why Jan. 8, 2022 should be circled on the calendar – the day Fleury returns to the Fortress wearing red.