In 2003, things were looking pretty bleak for the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. The team had just missed the playoffs for the second-straight season. Jaromir Jagr had been gone for two seasons, and Alexei Kovalev was just traded that spring. All that was left for the Penguins fans was Mario Lemieux and the uncertainty of what was to come in the years ahead.
At the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville, Tennessee, the Penguins had the third-overall pick. They needed a big building block to place at the foundation of their new era of Penguins hockey. They traded up to the first-overall pick, selecting Marc-Andre Fleury, a goaltender they hoped would become a star. What he ended up becoming, was much more.
Related: Penguins’ Tristan Jarry Continues to Plead His Case to Be Team’s Starter
It’s hard to put into words how much the fans in Pittsburgh adore Fleury. He comes with a personality that endears him to everyone that watches him play. He’s a fun-loving guy who plays the game of hockey with a child-like enthusiasm. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and the people of Pittsburgh appreciate that.
When watching him play this past Sunday against the Penguins for the last time before he retires, it made me want to reflect on some of the more memorable moments of his career.
Fleury’s Debut on Opening Night 2003
His first start with the Penguins came when he was only 18 years old. I was at the arena that night, there was a buzz in the building as everyone wanted a glimpse of hope in those dark years. Fleury dazzled fans with his athleticism and quick side-to-side movement, and he ended the night with a stop on a penalty shot.
He was the unquestioned star of the game, even though he gave up two goals in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Fans didn’t care so much about the outcome as they knew where they would likely end up in the standings that season. What they cared about was seeing the potential of the future and letting their dreams run wild.
I don’t think in their wildest dreams they could have imagined how it would turn out for Fleury and the Penguins. If you told me that night as I walked out of the Mellon Arena that Fleury would win three Stanley Cups with the Penguins and finish his career second all time in wins for a goaltender in NHL History, I would have said that was a pipe dream. Instead of being a pipe dream, it became reality.
Fleury’s First Shut Out
There weren’t many highlights from the 2003-2004 Penguins in Fleury’s rookie season and there weren’t many goals either. On Oct. 30, 2003, the Penguins only managed to score one goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, but thankfully Fleury stopped all 20 shots he faced to earn his first-career shutout.
It was the first time in a while Penguins fans felt they had a goalie who could create victories for them rather than just preserve them. If you want to win a Stanley Cup, you need a goaltender who can steal games both in the regular season and in the playoffs. It had been a while since Pittsburgh had a goalie who could do that.
Fleury’s First Playoff Game
This isn’t a fond memory for the Penguins. In the spring of 2007, the Penguins got steamrolled by the Stanley Cup Finals-bound Ottawa Senators in the first game of the playoffs.
The reason it was memorable for me was people’s reactions to Fleury. Goalies take all the glory when their teams win, and conversely all the blame when they lose.
Pittsburgh fans however held a certain fondness for Fleury, and it was hard not to. As I mentioned earlier, he wore his heart on his sleeve and you could see how badly he wanted to win, so when times were tough, it made it hard to turn on him.
Don’t get me wrong, there were certainly people that turned on him from time to time, but overall, the Penguins fans had Fleury’s back through thick and thin.
2008 Stanley Cup Final Game 5
The Penguins forced the keeper of the Cup to put Lord Stanley’s Mug back in his case. Maxime Talbot tied the game with 35 seconds left, and then the game against the Detroit Red Wings carried on into three overtimes
While Petr Sykora ultimately scored the game winner, the most memorable part of this game to me was Fleury’s performance. The Penguins were hanging on by a thread. Fleury faced 58 shots in the game, stopping 55, including every shot he faced in overtime.
It was the biggest stage of his career to date and he was sensational as he bailed out a Penguins team that was simply outmatched.
2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal Game 7
The Washington Capitals and Penguins played a back and forth series that left very little margin for error. Every game was so tight that any mistake could end your team’s season. The Penguins made that error just three minutes into this game.
Somehow they let Alexander Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer the NHL has ever seen, get a breakaway before the ice even had any snow on it. Ovechkin corralled the puck, every fan in the Washington D.C. rose to their feet as he zeroed in on Fleury. Ovechkin made a little move and went glove side, but Fleury flashed the leather and robbed Ovechkin .
This was a fork in the road moment, I believe, in terms of the direction the Penguins and Capitals rivalry would go for the next decade. Fleury lets that goal in and maybe it’s Ovechkin who wins three Cups before Sidney Crosby can lift his first. In the biggest moment of his career, against the best goal scorer we’ve ever seen, Fleury saved the day.
“The Save(s)”
In Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Red Wings, Fleury had the opportunity that every young goalie has dreamed about. Not just to win the Stanley Cup, but do it with what was essentially a walk-off save (or saves.)
With the Penguins leading 2-1 and only 6.5 seconds remaining, there was a faceoff to the left of Fleury. The puck was drawn back to Brian Rafalski, whose shot was blocked, but the puck dropped right onto the blade of Henrik Zetterberg, whose shot through a crowd was stopped by Fleury.
That save might be the least-appreciated save in Penguins history. It was a hard shot, through a screen, on the ice from about 15 feet. The puck didn’t just bounce off of Fleury, he had to drop to the ice and take away the five-hole in a flash.
The rebound popped out to the right where Hall of Famer Niklas Lidstrom was drifting in, and there was a yawning cage for him to put the puck in as the final seconds were ticking away. At that moment I remembered how I witnessed Fleury’s quickness from post to post in his first game against the Kings back in 2003. It was all coming together; he slid across the ice faster than any goalie could, made the save, and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.
Fleury’s Final Stanza in Pittsburgh
When Matt Murray led the Penguins to the 2016 Stanley Cup, reality started to creep in. Murray, who had just won a Cup as a rookie, was probably going to be here for the long haul, and at the upcoming 2017 NHL Expansion Draft for the Vegas Golden Knights, Fleury would be the one on the move.
Fleury was resigned to his fate as a backup for the 2017 playoff run, until Murray was injured during warmups of the first game of the playoffs. Fleury stepped in and carried the Penguins through the first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets with ease.
It was in the second round, against the Capitals, where he stole the show again. As fate would have it, the series would come down to a Game 7 in Washington. Fleury stopped all 29 shots he faced as he shut out the Capitals and again left the Washington crowd stunned.
Although he eventually gave way to a healthy Murray part way through the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators, Fleury’s final victory for the Penguins was a 1-0 shutout in Game 2 of that series. 1-0, just like his first shutout back in 2003.
A lot happened between his first shutout with the Penguins and his last: A lot of laughs, a lot of smiles, a lot of trying times, and a lot of wins. Ever since Fleury left the Penguins, it just hasn’t felt right. Hindsight being 20/20, sure then-general-manager Jim Rutherford should have traded Murray and kept Fleury. No matter what team Fleury has played for, it never felt like he stopped being a Penguin. He just happened to be wearing another uniform.
Players come and go, but few have the lasting impact on a fan base like Fleury did in Pittsburgh. Every time he’s returned to play in Pittsburgh, there are chants of “Fleu-ry, Fleu-ry” when he makes an, ahem, flurry of saves. Even though he was wearing another sweater, to Pittsburghers he still felt like their guy, Marc-Andre Fleury, a Penguin forever.
