Goodbye Marc-Andre Fleury.
Though your departure to the Vegas Golden Knights does not come as a surprise due to the constant rumor mill of possible destinations, that does not mean that it hurts any less. I was not your biggest fan and not your biggest believer during your time in Pittsburgh. In fact, I was often a critic or frustrated with your play in the playoffs some years and freaking out every single time you would venture behind the net to retrieve a puck for fear that something bad would happen and the puck would end up in the goal because of some poor stick handling skill. Even though you had your down years and bad playoff series and even some really awful games, I never thought I would have to watch you put on the jersey of another team. No matter how good Penguin’s backup goaltenders would play in relief during bad games or stretches, I knew that the starting job would be yours.
From the time I began to watch hockey close to ten years ago, you were the guy guarding the cage. The goalie I grew up with was number 29. The memories will always stay with me. The saves you made, your fantastic personality and your ritual of skating to the corner saying a few words to yourself to get your head back in the right frame of mind will last forever in Penguins’ lore. I will never forget the windmill save on a streaking Alexander Ovechkin that took the whole crowd’s breath away or the diving effort in game seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final to stop Niklas Lidstrom in order to clinch the game for the Penguins as they beat the Detroit Red Wings who beat Pittsburgh the year before. That save meant so much to the city and a lot to me personally. As a young hockey fan, I was finally able to witness a championship-winning team. I remember watching the clock tick down, I was on the edge of my seat, watching apprehensively as Detroit made one last push. The puck bounced out to Lidstrom and I knew you were gonna make this save. In my mind, you had to. You just had to, there was no alternative. You made that save and it was absolutely dazzling as you lunged across the face of the goal to keep that puck out. It was an amazing save, probably the best in Penguins’ history. You were the goaltender in net for the Penguins in the NHL’s first Winter Classic in Buffalo against the Sabres in the snow where Sidney Crosby won the game in the shootout.
You've been there for all the good moments and often part of the blame when things went wrong but you were there, took ownership and tried to get better the next time. I respected the amount of trust and confidence that you instilled in the Penguins who had the ambition to draft you first overall in 2003 to make you the highest drafted goaltender in league history. Until Mike Sullivan, every coach had the utmost confidence that you would go out and make a save. You were their guy. Until an injury in the playoffs in 2016 gave Matt Murray the chance to shine, there was no goalie competition and no one clamored for Murray to start. Murray took off with a great team in your absence. By the time you returned, Coach Sullivan did the right thing and stuck with him as the hot hand. You stayed patient; ready to take your turn when called upon. Murray won the cup with a loaded Penguins team and was given all the deserved credit for his excellent play. Although, many Penguins fans seemed to forget who brought their team all the way to the playoffs before picking up an injury. Their short memory was the most disheartening part of winning the Stanley Cup. Murray only played in a total of 13 regular season games before he took an already white-hot team to the pinnacle of the sport. I felt sorry for you as many fans wanted a goaltender who had not truly proven anything to usurp your throne in net. It was tough to watch as every goal you let in was scrutinized even though the Penguins could not play defense.
This season, splitting time in the cage between you and Murray was rough. It was hard for you to get into a rhythm when you were used to playing over 65 of 82 games in a season. When Matt Murray tore his hamstring in warmups of the first playoff game, you stepped up. You stood on your head and made impressive save after save. You once again propelled the Penguins forward past Columbus and mostly through Washington. Unfortunately, the Penguins defense again was weak and their ineptitude left you out to dry. One bad period and head coach Mike Sullivan yanked the very short leash he had on you for the newly healthy Matt Murray. This move was probably the greatest disrespect that anyone could have shown a 14 year veteran and a staple of the Penguins. After putting the team on his back in every game en route to the second round, your Penguins had already put the Caps on the back foot. It is a move I will never agree with. Not one of the goals in that game could honestly be blamed on you. The Penguin defense looked like traffic cones from the outset of the game and made no concerted effort to protect your net. Sullivan should have let you finish the Cup run out but switching goaltenders after one bad period is unprecedented and unreasonable. But, this decision showed everyone that Matt Murray was Sullivan’s guy. Unfortunately, again, Murray took the credit from fans for winning another Stanley Cup in spite of the fact that the Pens would not have even come close without your spectacular play in the first two rounds.
The fans who were so easily willing to hand the keys to the organization to an unproven Murray saddened me as I watched them replace the goalie who had done so much for the city and the organization. I read an article by Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as he spoke of a trip to your hometown in Quebec to watch a game with your father and sister. He detailed the frustration the Fleury family felt when the announcers would suggest that you would move to a different team. At the suggestion that you would end up in Vegas, he described your father “scoffing and waving his hand at the television.” Werner described your room which is full of Penguins memorabilia accumulated over your playing career and the wall painted in black and gold stripes with a huge logo. Your family gave its heart for the organization the way you do on the ice and that will be another sad part of watching you go.
When you put that Golden Knights jersey on as I watched the expansion draft, I watched the solemn reactions of team owner Mario Lemieux and your teammates Karl Hagelin and Sidney Crosby with sadness in their eyes. Even Evgeni Malkin posted a picture with a number 29 Penguins jersey that read My MVP on the nameplate. A gesture so great from the Penguins star. It showed how much the players care about you and hate to see you go. It was official. You are no longer a Penguin. That is still going to be hard to grasp. The heart you showed by building a playground for kids with you wife and even making a public appearance to greet fans just two days before the NHL expansion draft.
Goodbye Marc-Andre. Though I was never your biggest fan and often quick to show frustration with your play over the years, I believe that you should be the model for every subsequent Penguins player after you. You showed class when the organization and fans did not believe in you and when the coach outright disrespected you. It shows what kind of person you are and great character. You showed your love for the city and team and played your heart out. Your contributions will not be forgotten. Thank you for a great run and for three Stanley Cup Championships in four trips to the finals. Thank you for the excitement and the memories, the heart and the effort. Good luck in Vegas.
