Fleury praised by players, coaches for reaching 500 NHL wins

Marc-Andre Fleury couldn't have picked a better place for his latest NHL accomplishment.

Fleury earned his 500th NHL win Thursday when the
Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-0
at Bell Centre in Montreal, about an hour north of his hometown of Sorel, Quebec.
Fleury is the third goalie in NHL history to reach the milestone, joining Hockey Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur (691) and Patrick Roy (551). He is 500-286-80 with two ties, a 2.55 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and 69 shutouts in 901 regular-season games during 18 seasons with Chicago, the Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blackhawks mobbed Fleury as the horn sounded and gave him stick taps as he left the ice following his 30-save performance. The crowd chanted Fleury's name and gave him a standing ovation as the final seconds ticked away.
"Yeah, they don't probably like me too much here. I got booed and yelled at a lot throughout my career," Fleury said. "I don't know why, but in this building, I've always had a tough time winning games. It meant a lot. It meant a lot to have so many people from Quebec being proud of me being from here and achieving this goal."
Fleury said he wasn't worried as the clock ticked down about whether or not he'd complete the shutout.
"I just wanted to win," he said. "Bottom line, every night, that's all I want. I want to win, whether it's 5-4, 2-0, it's just trying to find a way to win games. I'm happy it worked out tonight."

Fleury is 8-10-0 with a 2.79 GAA, .913 save percentage and two shutouts in 18 games this season, his first with Chicago. He was acquired in a trade with Vegas on July 27 for forward prospect Mikael Hakkarainen after winning the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL last season.
Following the trade, Fleury thought about retiring for family reasons but decided to report to Chicago.
The Blackhawks got off to a 1-9-2 start before firing coach Jeremy Colliton on Nov. 6 and replacing him with Derek King. Fleury was 1-7-0 at the time of the firing but is 7-3-0 in his past 10 starts. The Blackhawks are 9-5-0 since King became coach.
"He's unbelievable. Vezina Trophy winner for a reason," Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome said after a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Islanders on Sunday, when Fleury saved 22 of 24 shots and all three attempts in the tiebreaker.
"Without him, we're not in a lot of these games. He's a heck of a goalie. … He's a great guy in the locker room too. You hear things before guys come to your team, hear how great of a guy he is, and every word's been true. One of the best teammates I've ever had, for sure."
Canadiens goalie Jake Allen, who started against the Blackhawks on Thursday, said he has the utmost respect for Fleury.
"I think the hardest thing to do as a goalie is to play in this league with longevity and consistency," Allen said Wednesday. "Not many guys can do it, only a few guys can. Five hundred wins puts him behind Marty and Patrick, and it's just an amazing accomplishment."
Sidney Crosby, who won the Stanley Cup three times with Fleury in Pittsburgh (2009, 2016, 2017), mentioned three reasons Fleury was able to reach the milestone.
"It just says a lot about his consistency, his work ethic and I think his passion," the center said. "It's not easy to consistently put up the numbers he has year after year as a goaltender, as a starting goaltender too. There's a lot of pressure and a lot that comes with that position."
Selected No. 1 by the Penguins in the 2003 NHL Draft, Fleury made his NHL debut Oct. 10, 2003. Eight days later, in his second NHL game, he got his first win when he made 31 saves on 34 shots in a 4-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings.
Fleury became the Penguins' No. 1 goalie in 2005-06, his second NHL season, and three seasons later helped them win their first Stanley Cup championship since 1992.
Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal, who played for the Penguins from 2006-12, said Fleury was the backbone of those teams.
"Obviously, you're not going to get very far, especially in the playoffs, if you don't have a great goalie," Staal said. "He was there bailing me out quite a few times, probably more than I'd like. He brought such great energy to the room. He was a fun guy to be around, and just a joy to play in front of and help do anything you can to keep the puck out of the net for him."
After backing up Matt Murray in the Stanley Cup Playoffs during Pittsburgh's championship run in 2016 and splitting time with him the following season, Fleury was left unprotected in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and selected by Vegas.
In 2017-18, his first season with the Golden Knights, he helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final; they lost to the Washington Capitals in five games. He also helped Vegas advance to the Western Conference Final in 2020 and reach the NHL semifinals again last season, when he won the Vezina Trophy after going 26-10-0 with a 1.98 GAA, .928 save percentage and six shutouts in 36 games.
But this offseason he was traded when Vegas decided to go with Robin Lehner as its No. 1 goalie.
"What a great accomplishment, what a great career," said Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer, who replaced Gerard Gallant on Jan. 15, 2020. "He's obviously gotten himself back in a good spot here now and has been playing exceptionally well. I'm on the Canadian Olympic staff. I know his name is all over those conversations for that, as it should be. Great to see that.
"We were a small little piece. I'd like to think when he looks at his Vezina Trophy one day down the road, he'll remember this organization's part in that and everybody that helped with that."
Gallant, now coach of the New York Rangers, said Fleury was the right centerpiece for a new team.
"He was a confidence-builder for the coaching staff, for all of our players, just a great character, leader guy," Gallant said. "He's got a great attitude, he loves to play the game. We had a hard time in Vegas in keeping him off the ice for morning skates or [the] day between games. He always wanted to be on the ice and enjoy his teammates and have fun. His longevity is because he works hard, he competes hard and he loves the game."
Fleury is in the final season of the three-year, $21 million contract ($7 million average annual value) he signed with Vegas on July 13, 2018. If he chooses to play after this season, those who know him say he has plenty of game left.
"He's still got it," Golden Knights forward William Carrier said. "We watched that game against the Islanders. They were playing right before us. You can see he's still smiling, still enjoying it, so I think he's going to be playing for a little bit here."
NHL.com independent correspondent Danny Webster contributed to this report