Provocative agent Allan Walsh did not speak publicly Saturday, but in his case a photo said a thousand words, perhaps several hundred thousand words. We have no idea if goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights, signed on or even knew his agent would crash hockey Twitter on Saturday afternoon, but we do know this: That a Walsh tweet that graphically suggests Vegas coach Peter DeBoer Fleury in the head stick the back had not yet been taken hours after it appeared.
This suggests that relationships between the Golden Knights and their first-ever expansion design for pick and face of the franchise are strained. But until Fleury talks about it, we really can not know. The Golden Knights have spoken to Fleury about the situation and it is believed he is on board with what the team is doing and just wants to win another Stanley Cup. And that he will stay with the team in the bubble in Edmonton and continue to serve as the backup for Robin Lehner. Walsh could not be reached for comment Saturday. Both DeBoer and Golden Knights president of hockey action, George McPhee, returned calls posted by TheHockeyNews.com, but declined to comment.
Shortly after the image, which shows Fleury making a rescue with a bloody sword with ‘DeBOER’ on it, was posted to the 42,800 followers of Walsh, people wondered if he would join the Pittsburgh Penguins next season would end. Or whether the Edmonton Oilers should investigate, or how Fleury might look in an Ottawa Senators uniform.
We know that Fleury is praised as one of the best teammates in the history of the game and it does not fit his profile to initiate or support a movement like this. Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, in fact, said Fleury was just that in 2016 when he lost the pitch to Matt Murray during the Penguins’ run to the Stanley Cup. It is quite possible that Walsh, who is unbelievably loyal and passionate about his clients, rogue on this one. And if that is the case, there is nothing to indicate that the relationship between the Golden Knights and Fleury is untenable. But enough has happened in Vegas to indicate that the Fleury situation has caused some unrest.
For example, two days after the Golden Knights took over Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks, goalkeeping coach Dave Prior stepped down as the team’s goal-scoring coach, but remained with the organization in a management role. It is important to note that Prior the Golden Knights highly recommended taking Fleury into the expansion draft and was an enormous Fleury supporter. Lehner, a waiting for unlimited free agent, was acquired Feb. 24. The two goals alternate games until the league break on March 12, but once re-entered the NHL for the playoffs, Lehner was the undisputed No. 1 man in the cripple. Since the playoffs began, Fleury has played just two games – stopping 13 of 17 shots in a round-robin victory over St. Louis. Louis Blues and a 26-save performance in the Golden Knights’ 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the first round, a game in which DeBoer named Fleury “our best player of the night.”
That Chicago game was the first of a back-to-back scenario. Lehner got the start in games 4 and 5 and is expected to get the start in Game 1 of the second round Sunday as the Golden Knights face the Vancouver Canucks, despite the fact that Fleury has a 12-2-2 record against Vancouver and was 1 -0-1 against the Canucks in the regular season. Fleury has not been lost in regulation to the Canucks in 14 years and when asked if this could affect his thinking, DeBoer said: ‘When I think about it, I do not think it’s our roster decision or our line-up. changes, at least not for Game 1. ”
Fleury was asked about the situation with goaltending after the win against Chicago and if he was overwhelmed with the situation, he did not show it. “I do not feel I am against Robin,” Fleury said. ‘I just feel like I should beat the Blackhawks. That’s where my focus lies, just trying my best to help my team get a win and be 3-zip in the series. Robin likes to play, I love to play and it’s the coach’s decision, right? It’s playoffs and I think everyone becomes a good teammate and that all that matters here is winning one game at a time. ”
After the victory in Chicago it turned out that DeBoer sympathized with Fleury, and said: ‘The boys want to play well for (Fleury) because he is such a good man, such a good pro and such a good teammate. Everyone wants to play. Players with his family tree have a great deal of pride in their game. It is not easy to sit. He treated it exactly as you would expect a man like him, with his professionalism, to handle it. And he did exactly what we needed him to, what played off his ass. ‘
A very wise hockey person once said that he has not yet met the coach who does not want to win. DeBoer, like every other coach in the NHL, will make decisions about lineup based on which players he thinks will give him the best chance of winning every game. And it’s important to note that he took the Vegas coaching job mid-January, so he has no history with Fleury. DeBoer plays the goaltender he believes gives him a chance to win, even if it means one of the most respected and decent men has to play the game at the end of his bench. And that’s definitely not right with at least one person in Fleury’s camp. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
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