Hilary Knight has led the Boston Fleet since their inaugural season, and will be taking the next steps in her career over to the West Coast. Knight’s biggest contributions to the city of Boston come off the ice, where her legacy will forever be remembered.
Boston’s protected player list was revealed on June 3rd, and every Boston fan knows where they were when they did not find Hilary Knight on that list. From the get-go, there was speculation and certainty that Knight would be drafted to Seattle; it was almost certain after the former Assistant General Manager of the Fleet took a job as General Manager for PWHL Seattle.
Knight signed a one-year deal with Seattle and has said that it would not be her last year in the PWHL, which gives fans hope that she will return to Boston to finish out her Hall of Fame career.
While her start in the PWHL was not expected, she turned out to be just the player that Boston needed her to be. Her performance on the ice did not live up to the expectations, but the team persevered through her leadership and made a push to the Walter Cup Finals, and made it to game five. Her second season was one for the books as she led the league in points with 29 and made the comeback that everyone was waiting for.
Knight has made a great impact in women’s hockey and has paved the way for so many future athletes who are finding their way into the sport. She is a four-time Olympic medalist and a 10-time IIHF Women’s World Champion. She was one of the biggest voices for women’s hockey and played a key role in the founding and formation of the PWHL. She led many figures through the fight for equal pay for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
What Fans Are Saying
The entire Fleet fanbase is heartbroken by this news, especially Hayley Giordano, a Fleet fan who claims Knight as her favorite women’s hockey player.
“I was a bit late to watching women’s hockey at the time. My first time watching her play was during the Women’s Worlds. I remember watching her play and saying to myself, ‘wow, she can really play.'” Knight meant a lot to Hayley, as she did to other fans.
The news was very upsetting for the fans to see. “I was very upset, I thought there was a way she would refuse and want to stick around Boson and retire,” She said. With Knight only signing a one-year contract, the hope will stand out for her return to Boston.
The Final Goodbye
Boston will forever be a home to Knight, and she leaves a legacy that will not be forgotten. Getting her chance to go back to Seattle, where her career began, is a treat and would be a great way to end this chapter of her storybook career. Fleet fans will forever remember the impact she had in this city, and she will always be their captain. You can take the Knight out of the Fleet, but you can’t take the Fleet out of the Knight. Her name is engraved not just in the record books, but in the spirit and heart of Boston hockey forever.
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