Rumors swirl that Golden Knights looking to make trades

Now that the NHL calendar is closer to being resolved, the offseason rumor mill can start to churn.

And the Golden Knights are already featured prominently.

Left wing Max Pacioretty is being shopped by the team, according to a report from TSN’s “Insider Trading,” and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains on the trading block.

Jonathan Marchessault was another name also being floated as a trade possibility, The Athletic reported.

The Knights almost traded Pacioretty at the draft, French-language TV station TVA Sports reported in October, and could be looking to sell high on the 32-year-old.

Pacioretty led the team with 32 goals and 66 points in 71 games before the regular season was paused because of the coronavirus pandemic. He had five goals and eight points in 16 postseason games while battling an undisclosed injury.

The Knights are almost $1 million over the salary cap with 21 players on the roster, according to CapFriendly.com. Pacioretty has a $7 million salary cap hit through the 2022-23 season.

Trading their leading scorer wouldn’t appear to solve the Knights’ lack of offense, which plagued them in the Western Conference semifinals and carried over into the conference final against Dallas. The Knights ranked 13th in goals per game (3.15) during the 2019-20 regular season.

Perhaps Pacioretty could bring back a center in return that would shore up the Knights’ most glaring weakness.

Winger Alex Tuch appears ready to move into the top six should a spot open up, and that also could allow a rookie forward such as Peyton Krebs, Jack Dugan or Lucas Elvenes to make the club.

Fleury’s name being mentioned again is not a surprise since he appeared to be on the move this offseason had the Knights found a taker for his $7 million cap hit.

Robin Lehner was signed to a five-year extension as the goalie of the future, making Fleury, 36, expendable.

Fleury’s relationship with the Knights has been unsettled since his agent, Allan Walsh, tweeted and later deleted a picture of the goalie with a sword through his back. Pacioretty also is represented by Walsh.

Marchessault struggled in the postseason with no goals in his final 11 games after he issued an apology for making vulgar replies to followers on Instagram.

Marchessault led the Knights in goals during the 2018-19 season and was second in scoring with 75 points during the club’s inaugural season. He was a favorite of former coach Gerard Gallant, having played for him in Florida before being selected in the expansion draft.

Franchise value

The Knights were ranked as the 13th-most valuable franchise in the NHL and are worth $570 million, according to Forbes.

That value represents a 2 percent decrease from last year. Teams dropped an average of 2 percent in value across the league with the pandemic affecting total revenue.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.