Over the summer, recently retired NHL goalie and Pittsburgh Penguins icon Marc-André Fleury signed an unexpected professional tryout that would allow him to join the Penguins one last time for a preseason game. This shocked hockey fans not only in Pittsburgh but across the nation. The 40-year-old goalie played his official final game with the Minnesota Wild back in May during the NHL playoffs.
During last season, when the Wild faced the Penguins for the final time, Fleury was honored and celebrated amongst his former teammates. Penguins fans cherish the two decades that Fleury spent in the net, and it is safe to say that he will have a warm welcome during his on-ice appearance on Sept. 27.
Fleury is one of the most well-known Penguins of the 21st century. He was drafted first overall by Pittsburgh in 2003 and played a successful 13 seasons with the Penguins until the 2016-17 season, when he was selected by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. He played as the starting goalie for the Golden Knights for most of his tenure before he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks over the summer of 2021.
Fleury did not see much time with the Blackhawks. He was quickly traded to the Minnesota Wild before the 2021-22 season in March, where he would spend the rest of his career.
As first-overall in his draft class, which is rare for a goalie to receive in the NHL, Penguins fans couldn’t wait to see what he would bring to Pittsburgh. In his first month with the Penguins, Fleury recorded a shutout against the Blackhawks. It was a promising sight, but Fleury needed more time to keep growing his game.
It wasn’t until the 2006-07 season that he really experienced his breakthrough in the league, leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals as a starting goalie. Although he had experienced many roadblocks in his career with the Penguins, such as concussions, he is much credited for what is widely considered the best decade in Penguins history.
During his time in Pittsburgh, up until he was traded, the Penguins only missed the playoffs twice. Of those playoffs, they reached the Stanley Cup Finals four times. They brought the Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh in 2009, 2016 and 2017, where Fleury would have played in his final playoff appearance with the Penguins before being selected in the expansion draft by the Golden Knights. His teammates and fans were heartbroken to see him go after all of the success he had brought to Pittsburgh.
Fleury grew into the Pittsburgh community from the start. Especially when some of his notable teammates, such as Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin were drafted to the Penguins as well, he had found some of his closest friends in hockey. He eventually earned the nickname “Flower,” a play on his last name that comes from the word “fleur,” the French translation of flower.
Fleury would pull pranks on his teammates, boosting team morale and grabbing the attention of Penguins fans. Aside from playing fantastic hockey, he was a fan favorite in Pittsburgh for his goofy and outgoing personality that people loved.
To this day, Marc-André Fleury is beloved in Pittsburgh. As a Penguins icon, people continue to look back on the memories he created. His return is a gift to the Pittsburgh community and he is welcomed with open arms from Penguins fans and a jam-packed PPG Paints Arena when he faces the Blue Jackets in his final game on Saturday.
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