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Marc-Andre Fleury Honored after Final Game; 5 Best MAF Moments
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- Marc-Andre Fleury Honored after Final Game; 5 Best MAF Moments
The legend of Marc-Andre Fleury is just beginning, but on Thursday his playing career that began shortly after the Pittsburgh Penguins made him the first pick of the 2003 NHL Draft came to an end.
When the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Minnesota Wild in Game 6, they also ended Fleury's career. At 40 years old, Fleury squeezed one more year from a celebrated story that includes a few Stanley Cup rings, one Vezina Trophy, and a few cities that claim him as a favored son.
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It's a testament to the indomitable personality, spectacular saves, and a smile so big it could be seen through a goalie mask.
Thursday night, the Vegas Golden Knights ended the handshake line with stick taps for the former face of their franchise and the goalie that led them to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, as well as attracted a city to the game.
The heartfelt tribute was only a small sample of the affection between Fleury and the remaining Original Misfits. If it had to be anyone, it was fitting that it was against Vegas, the team and fanbase that he helped build.
Fleury made his NHL debut in the 2003-04 season behind a woefully bad Penguins team led by Mario Lemieux , but with little else that could be called NHL talent. For a few seasons, he was up and down from the AHL as he figured out his game, but in the end, what a game it was.
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Fleury finished with 886 starts, 571 wins, and a future date at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Whether Fleury was pulling a prank on unsuspecting teammates or broadcasters, the perpetually smiling netminder will be remembered as much for his off-the-ice hijinks as he is for being the second-winningest goaltender in NHL history.
After all, the pranks could fill a Netflix special, from hiding in a hockey bag to scare the daylights out of teammate Colby Armstrong, to dangling a new teammate's clothes from the rafters, to a few that close friend Sidney Crosby won't share.
In the end, his final appearance will be scored as an overtime loss in Game 5. He stopped six of seven shots, but the seventh was an unstoppable winner. Any disappointment today will soon be merely dust on the jacket.
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The wins will be remembered in several cities, including his remarkable run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final with Vegas and the few with the Penguins, which will forever be immortalized in silver.
Overlooked will be his remarkable playoff run in 2017 before then-head coach Mike Sullivan opted to go with Matt Murray later in the Eastern Conference Final. Fleury probably stole the Round Two series from Washington … and laughed as he did it. In Game 7, he literally laughed at Ovechkin after making a great save late in the second period to preserve a mere 1-0 lead.
We will begin with an honorable mention.
5 Greatest Marc-Andre Fleury Moments
5. Hallway Hotel
One of the most creative pranks Fleury pulled was in 2011 on teammates Ben Lovejoy and Mark Leteestu. You leave for dinner, your hotel room is behind a locked door. You come back from dinner, your entire room is set up in the hallway, phone, TV, and everything else included.
4. Poor Winnipeg
The Washington Capitals finally got some revenge on Fleury in 2018 when Washington won its first Stanley Cup by beating the Vegas Golden Knights and Fleury in the Final. However, for Vegas to get that far in their inaugural season, Fleury had to be brilliant throughout the Cup run.
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The pinnacle of the journey was the Round Two win over the Winnipeg Jets . With fan intensity reaching deafening levels and Winnipeg peppering Fleury with shots, Vegas won the series in five games–but it wasn't Vegas that outplayed Winnipeg, it was Fleury.
He won four straight games, making at least 30 saves. His "worst" game was Game 3, in which he posted a mere .943 save percentage. It was classic Fleury thievery, and Vegas began to believe that a Stanley Cup was possible.
3. Hello, Vezina
Unfortunately, in 2021 a nasty little virus canceled the NHL Awards. So, Fleury received his first Vezina Trophy via a Zoom call in front of a national TV audience.
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It took Fleury 17 seasons to win one, and he did so at 36 years old. Fleury posted a .928 save percentage in the COVID-shortened season with a fantastic 1.98 goals-against average. He finished the season with a 26-10-0 record and wins in his final nine starts.
2. Hahaha
It became a signature moment in a marquee rivalry between the Penguins and Capitals.
May 13, 2009. Take a moment to realize how many titans of the game were on the ice that night, from Fleury, Sidney Crosby , and Evgeni Malkin to Alex Ovechkin, who is now the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer.
Ovechkin has a breakaway in an intense Game 7. The Stanley Cup may very well have awaited the winner of the game.
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Fleury not only stoned Ovechkin but also unleashed a hearty laugh. Later, Fleury also admitted to a chirp or two as Ovechkin skated away. Just look at the smile and laugh behind the mask.
1. Oh Sh*t!
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost the 2008 Stanley Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The loss broke the Penguins' hearts, but not their spirits. With a 21-year-old Crosby who was to become the youngest Stanley Cup-winning captain ever, the Penguins marched through the 2009 playoffs with a singular goal–to claim the Cup they were so close to just a year before.
The moments are etched in Penguins lore, never to be forgotten.
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The Stanley Cup Final was a rematch. The Penguins vs. Detroit, Round 2. After surviving Game 6 at home, the Penguins forced Game 7 at the old Joe Louis Arena for all of the marbles.
Penguins forward Max Talbot scored a pair of goals, and the Penguins led 2-1 in the final seconds, but the defending champions did not go easily. They bombarded the Penguins in the final minutes. The desperation of the Cup Final was evident in every stride of every player.
Fleury was spectacular, but he had one more save to make as he lunged to his right to deny future Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. The Penguins won the first Stanley Cup of the Crosby era.
And in the postgame aftermath, Fleury admitted the only thing going through his mind when he saw Lidstrom bearing down on him was, "I said, oh sh-t!"
It is the save that immortalized Fleury in perhaps the game of his life.
The post Marc-Andre Fleury Honored after Final Game; 5 Best MAF Moments appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
