VGK's Marc-Andre Fleury trade to Chicago Blackhawks confirmed

UPDATE: It appears that the trade of Marc-Andre Fleury is a done deal. The Vegas Golden Knights just tweeted about the trade.

They also sent the following to the media in an email:

Vegas Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon announced today, July 27, that the team has acquired forward Mikael Hakkarainen from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

A statement was released by Fleury through his agent late Tuesday afternoon.

General Manager Kelly McCrimmon also talked about the trade on Tuesday afternoon. McCrimmon claims that he was upfront with Fleury about the possibility that he might be traded. He also said that he last spoke with Fleury previously about Chicago Blackhawk's interest and he believes that their communication prior to the trade was very good.

McCrimmon said that they had not completed the trade call when the rumors began spreading on social media. McCrimmon also talked about why they decided to trade Fleury.

ORIGINAL STORY
It looks like the beloved Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc Andre-Andre Fleury may be headed to Chicago.

According to a tweet by ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan, the Chicago Blackhawks are in late states of trade talks to acquire Fleury.

Jesse Granger, who covers the Golden Knights for The Athletic, says a source close to Fleury has confirmed the trade.

Canadian hockey journalist and insider Darren Dreger is also reporting the trade.

Fleury's agent said on Twitter that Fleury "still hasn't heard from anybody" and he is taking time to discuss the situation with his family and consider his future in hockey.

The 36-year-old goalie was the top pick in the 2003 NHL Draft.

Fleury appeared in 192 games over four seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights after being selected during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

He posted a 117-60-14 record to go with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage and helped lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup Final appearance during the team’s inaugural season.

He also recorded 23 shutouts while with the Golden Knights, the most in the NHL since the start of the 2017-18 season.

During the 2020-21 season, the Sorel, Quebec native was named the Vezina Trophy winner after ranking third in the NHL in wins (26), goals-against average (1.98), save percentage (.928) and shutouts (6) in 36 appearances.

The 36-year-old, who also captured the first William M. Jennings Trophy of his career, yielded two or fewer goals in 25 of his 36 outings (69.4%) en route to posting the best goals-against average and save percentage of his 17-season NHL career.

Fleury ranks third all-time with 492 victories during his NHL career.

Fleury was traded for forward Mikael Hakkarainen, according to The Athletic.

Hakkarainen split the 2020-21 season with the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs and the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, appearing in 12 games and recording an assist. The Helsinki, Finland native was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fifth round (139th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

No other information is available at this time.