Report: Golden Knights Discussed Seperate Trades Involving Fleury and Marchessault

The Vegas Golden Knights were all over the headlines on Wednesday as reports surfaced they're open to talking trade on a few of their players. First it was Max Pacioretty, and then shortly after both Jonathan Marchessault and Marc-Andre Fleury's names popped up in reports. 

The team is trying to find ways to create cap flexibility so it makes sense to do a pulse check on the market.

They would all clear major cap space ($7M for Fleury or Pacioretty, $5M for Marchessault) and from what I've heard they're testing the market to see what values look like.

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) December 9, 2020

Marchessault has four years left on his contract, carrying a $5 million cap hit. The 29-year-old holds a small bit of trade protection where he submits a list of eight teams he would like to avoid. The pre-season list goes down to five teams the final two years of his contract, this according to Cap Friendly.  

Marchessault scored 25 goals and tallied 47 points in 66 games last season. 

There should be a ton of interest - he's a productive player at a very reasonable price. The only issue is, only a few teams have cap space so any trade these days seems far more complicated to sign off on. 

Some teams starving for an offensives boost include the Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings. 

The Wings make some sense as general manager Steve Yzerman has plenty of experience watching Marchessault up close and personal during his tenure in Tampa Bay. Marchessault improves the Wings lineup and immediately jumps into their top-6. Considering the status of the Golden Knights financial situation, cheap future considerations is likely what they're looking for in return. 

It just so happens the Red Wings have three second-round picks in 2021 including their own, the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers. Perhaps there's mutual interest between Yzerman and Golden Knights general manager, Kelly McCrimmon and a deal goes down before training camp begins. 

The Marc-Andre Fleury situation is certainly much different for the Golden Knights. The incident after the playoffs between Fleury's agent regarding head coach Peter DeBoer didn't necessarily help the goalie's trade value. The PR stunt wasn't something Fleury wanted to take place, and it handcuffed the Golden Knights, who lost some trade leverage.

Not many teams appear to be in the goalie market, so opportunity is limited. If a deal goes down, it wouldn't surprise me if Fleury ended up with a team like the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes or perhaps the Buffalo Sabres. 

If Vegas is indeed actively shopping Marchessault, it doesn't seem like it would take long to facilitate a deal. The interest is expected to be high across the league. Fleury on the other hand, he'll be a little more difficult to move, even with goaltending tandems being more important with the upcoming clustered schedule. 

You have to believe moves are coming for the Golden Knights, it's obvious they're strapped for cash. Those things happen in Vegas. 

Photo credit: Marc Sanchez/Icon Sportswire