Blackhawks acquire star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, but Fleury considering retirement

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, is now a member of the Blackhawks.

But it’s unclear whether Fleury, whom many expected to retire if he ever was traded by the Golden Knights, will play for the Hawks.

The Hawks acquired Fleury, 36, from the Knights on Tuesday, taking on his contract with one year left at a $7 million cap hit. The only official return was minor-league forward Mikael Hakkarainen, who nonetheless will continue playing in the Hawks’ system next season.

It’s the third trade splash Hawks general manager Stan Bowman, quickly abandoning his patient youth movement, has made in the last two weeks.

The trade of defenseman Duncan Keith to the Oilers, along with the retirements of defenseman Brent Seabrook and forward Andrew Shaw earlier this year, made the Fleury acquisition possible financially. And the acquisition of defenseman Seth Jones in a trade with the Blue Jackets shifted the Hawks into win-now mode again, making the Fleury deal logical.

‘‘The opportunity to acquire a Vezina-winning goaltender is rare and one you cannot pass up,’’ Bowman said in a statement. ‘‘Marc-Andre . . . will have a huge impact on the overall development of the Blackhawks.’’

But there’s a decent chance Fleury might retire in the coming weeks, not wanting to leave Nevada at this stage of his career after settling down there with his wife and three young kids. His exact thoughts on the trade are difficult to nail down because he didn’t speak with the media and other sources gave conflicting reports about his mentality.

Fleury’s often outspoken agent, Allan Walsh, tweeted that Fleury ‘‘will be taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future.’’ He added that Fleury wasn’t notified by the Knights or Hawks and learned of the trade through Twitter.

Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon, however, said he had been in regular contact with Fleury since their exit meeting June 29. McCrimmon said he notified Fleury of the Hawks’ interest July 12 and updated his representatives as recently as Saturday.

‘‘Marc-Andre wanted to play in Vegas; that never changed,’’ McCrimmon said. ‘‘[But] this is a player that is at the very top of his game. I should think that he’ll play this year.’’

The unusual situation of trying to woo an already-acquired player was reflected in Bowman’s statement, which went above and beyond its normal praise of new players.

‘‘Having a goaltender like this on our team will put the talent we currently have on our roster in a better position to achieve sustained success,’’ the statement continued. ‘‘The entire organization is thrilled to have this future Hall of Famer on our team, and his reputation of being an excellent teammate on and off the ice precedes him.’’

If Fleury does come to Chicago, the Hawks’ goalie duo of him and young Kevin Lankinen would become one of the NHL’s best.

Fleury went 26-10-0 with a .928 save percentage last season en route to the Vezina. He has a 492-276-82 record (a 103-point annual pace) with a .913 save percentage and three Stanley Cup titles in his 17-year career, making him one of the most accomplished goalies of the salary-cap era.

The Hawks would have to be creative to make Fleury’s huge cap hit work, moving Seabrook’s and Shaw’s contracts to long-term injured reserve and potentially making other trades. Malcolm Subban and/or Collin Delia also might be jettisoned in the goalie crunch.

If Fleury retires, however, the Hawks won’t lose anything. In that scenario, his cap hit would be completely wiped from the books. He also potentially could request a trade to the Penguins, the team with whom he came up and won three Cups in 13 seasons.

The biggest issue will be waiting indefinitely for Fleury’s decision — unsure how much money to set aside and how to manage the suddenly crowded goalie room — while other crucial free-agent negotiations take place. The NHL’s free-agent market opens Wednesday.

The Hawks, however, understandably consider that a risk worth taking.