Moving Isn’t Fleury’s Goal

It has been a season-long audition for Theoren Fleury, playing to impress at each port the Calgary Flames call, wondering if it will be home next season.

And really hoping that it won’t.

Fleury said the Flames will have the first chance in the upcoming free-agency sweepstakes he figures to enter when the season ends.

“I like Calgary,” he said Thursday. “It’s home. But this is maybe the only chance I’ll have to be in control of my career. When you are an NHL player, you pretty much are in their control all of the time.”

Now, as a veteran with 353 goals in 773 games for the Flames, he is perhaps the leading candidate for serious money in this off-season’s free-agent market.

The trading deadline is March 23, and a deal is possible before then, with the Kings among those in the market for a high-profile scorer.

“I like them,” he said. “They have that new building [the Staples Center, which will house the Kings next season] and a good team with a future.”

But Fleury said that he is unlikely to sign the long-term contract that any team--including the Kings--would demand before it would trade for him. Without knowing it would have Fleury next season, a team isn’t likely to enrich Calgary with prospects.

*

King center Ray Ferraro is already working on his rehabilitation, two days after undergoing arthroscopic surgery for damaged knee cartilage.

He expects to be sidelined three more weeks.