Tim Benz: Fun subplot to trade rumor of Marc-Andre Fleury coming back to the Penguins

When I heard the report that the Pittsburgh Penguins tried to reacquire former goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (twice) from the Vegas Golden Knights in recent months, a lot ran through my head.

Via Vegas Hockey Now, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said on NBCSN Wednesday that “the Penguins have tried ‘very hard’ since the offseason to reacquire their former three-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie. The Golden Knights have passed on multiple occasions.

“Former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was at the forefront of those talks during the offseason. Interim Penguins GM Patrik Allvin tried as recently as ‘a couple of weeks’ ago, but Vegas has insisted on ‘no.’”

My first thought was, of course, Vegas said “no.” Why would the Golden Knights say “yes”?

Fleury has been fantastic. Before a 1-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks Thursday, he had won his first five decisions with a 1.80 goals against average and a 0.92 save percentage. Meanwhile, the guy who wrestled the primary starting job from Fleury last year in Vegas, Robin Lehner, hasn’t been close to as sharp (3-1-1, 2.96, 0.88%).

Also, the Knights are 8-1-1 atop a very tight Western Conference. And the Penguins have little to give back in return. At least nothing that wouldn’t be a massive subtraction from their current roster.

Plus, how would the Pens be able to absorb the remainder of Fleury’s $7 million salary cap hit this year and the whole chunk in 2022? What money would’ve had to be moved out the door to make that happen? Or how much of the salary were the Pens expecting Vegas to eat?

Not to mention what that would do to Tristan Jarry’s confidence. If that matters at all to the franchise anymore. Which it may not.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a self-admitted Flower sycophant. I would’ve loved to see a reunion happen. Especially with Jarry’s struggles so far in 2021. Yet, for all those reasons, it is no wonder why McKenzie is saying the Golden Knights are giving the proposal a “hard no.”

But let’s get beyond all this bothersome pragmatism. Who cares if the idea makes any sense or not? If all of McKenzie’s report is accurate, let’s talk about my guy Patrik Allvin!

Look, I understand the concept of Rutherford fishing to see if he could bring back Fleury in the offseason. Goalie depth was a question. Rutherford is a two-time Stanley Cup-winning general manager. He’s a Hall of Famer looking to bring back a three-time Cup champion, who he had no choice but to trade after 2017.

I get all that. But Allvin? How about some love for this dude?!

He’s an interim general manager. Emphasis on “interim.” He had the job for, what, 15 minutes? And he was going to have it for about 15 more. And, apparently, he was completely aware of that likelihood.

Allvin essentially says, “Oh, well. I’m only renting this car. Let’s see how fast she can go!”

So it sounds like he got on the phone at some point during the three-week stretch of holding down the fort, and he decided to swing from his heels and attempt to hit a five-run home run on the first pitch he sees — with no one on base.

So Allvin calls Vegas back again — after Rutherford couldn’t close the deal during the offseason — and ostensibly says to Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon, “I got one shot to make this happen. Let’s dance!”

He’s like a Swedish version of Eminem.

Now, to what end? Honestly, I don’t know.

Maybe Allvin was trying to impress the Penguins brass by doing something that Rutherford couldn’t. That way he could make a pitch to keep the job full-time. Maybe getting Fleury was a personal passion, and he was going to do everything possible to make it happen in the limited opportunity he had.

Or perhaps he just wanted one trade legacy that he knew most Penguins fans would love with his limited run of being in charge. At least he’d have a standout line on his resume for his next general manager interview.

It’s like Allvin had longed to be drunk with power, and he was going to be Tom Brady at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers boat parade.

And I love it! I am all about that. I might even be a bigger fan of Allvin now than I am of Fleury.

A couple of other items, though. Who was offered in exchange by either Allvin or Rutherford? Was there anything bogging down talks on Pittsburgh’s end? And did this have anything to do with Rutherford’s decision to walk away?

I kick around all those subplots with Pittsburgh native and “Puck Off Podcast” host Joe Bartnick during Friday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. We also discuss the hires of Ron Hextall and Brian Burke, the on-ice issues facing the Penguins so far in 2021, and the perks of this odd schedule cooked up by the NHL for the pandemic-altered season.