Fleury of Golden Knights withdraws from All-Star Game

Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights is skipping the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis on Jan. 25.

The goalie was replaced on the Pacific Division team by Jacob Markstrom of the Vancouver Canucks.
The 35-year-old is 17-8-3 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Fleury's father, Andre Fleury, died Nov. 27 at the age of 63. He was away from the Golden Knights for five games and was the backup for the first two after he came back. His first game played was Dec. 11, a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
"Altogether, talking with (team president) George (McPhee) and (general manager) Kelly (McCrimmon) and family, I thought it was the best route to go for myself and the team," Fleury said Saturday after the Golden Knights' 5-4 win against the St. Louis Blues.
"Spend a little time with the family too. Don't get me wrong, I like going, I think it's a lot of fun. I love to hang out with the players there. It's a huge honor to be a part of it. I'm sorry to the fans I disappointed for not going. I thought about it. Mentally, physically it was just the right thing."

By rule, Fleury will have to miss one regular-season game for skipping the All-Star Game, either the Golden Knights' final game before the break, at the Boston Bruins on Jan. 21, or their first game after the break, at the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 31.
Markstrom is 14-11-3 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .917 save-percentage. He joins forward Elias Pettersson on the Pacific, giving the Canucks multiple players at the All-Star Game for the first time since 2012 when forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin and defenseman Alexander Edler were selected.

Markstrom is the first Canucks goalie to be named to an All-Star Game since Roberto Luongo in 2009.
The 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend will consist of a three-game tournament, played 3-on-3 with four teams, one for each NHL division. Each team will be made up of 11 players from the division: six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies.