Vegas GM just threw Peter DeBoer under the bus and reveals the injustice behind Marc-Andre Fleury's treatment with the Golden Knights

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Jeff Drouin
July 6, 2022 (12:34)

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It's a story that made a lot of talk last year, when Quebec goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was treated in a very special and bizarre way by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Their former head coach, Peter DeBoer, clearly seemed to have a favorite and that favorite was Robin Lehner.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been the face of the expansion team since 2017, seemed to be treated unfairly. DeBoer was quick to "tamp him down" in favor of Lehner, and that was even though Fleury won the Vezina Trophy in 2020-2021.

In the end, last summer, the Golden Knights literally gave him away to the Chicago Blackhawks who, in turn, traded him for a first round pick to the Minnesota Wild in March 2022.

As my colleague Keven Mawn reports, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon just threw his former head coach under the bus and revealed the truth about the whole situation. (on the goalie controversy)

"Pete (DeBoer) was always a fan of Robin Lehner. He wanted him to be our goalie. He wanted us to extend his contract. He guarded the net when we went to the association finals on the bubble against Dallas. Last year we were in the association finals too and "Flower" was our starter. He had an incredible year, he was one of the best, but 'Lehny' was the guy DeBoer was most comfortable with." - Kelly McCrimmon

He just said out loud what many have been thinking out loud for quite some time. DeBoer clearly liked Lehner more than Fleury, and he had his own little favorite. (He even insisted that his GM extend his contract) Fleury was thus leaving with a huge head start on his partner.

This puts into perspective the picture published by Marc-Andre Fleury's agent:

For the details and the full amazing revelations:

This comment from Renaud Lavoie says it all: