Marc-Andre Fleury for Mikael Hakkarainen. The reigning Vezina winner for a player that isn’t even going to play for VGK’s AHL team. The face of the franchise for literally nothing.
That’s how the deal will be reported, and it’s completely accurate. However, many will frame it in a different way, one that is also accurate.
The Golden Knights acquired $7 million in cap space. They are now able to re-sign Alec Martinez, consider bringing back Mattias Janmark and Tomas Nosek, and maybe even add a bigger piece like Phillip Danault or dare I say… Jack Eichel.
It’s absolutely true that heading into this offseason Vegas was in dire need of opening up some cap space. It was also clear that the simplest way to do it was to move one of the goalies, a luxury that proved not to be so luxurious come playoff time when one or the other was parked on the bench each night. They’ve done it. Moved out a goalie and in turn, opened up heaps of space to make the next move to help improve the team.
But, aren’t they just fixing a mess they created in the first place.
If your son swung a baseball bat in the house and shattered the chandelier you wouldn’t applaud him for cleaning up the broken glass on the floor. (No, this oddly specific example is not in any way related to my childhood, nor am I reminded of it every time I sit at the dining room table at my parents’ place.)
