Au Revoir, Flower

When Marc-Andre Fleury made his NHL debut with the Penguins, a sign read, “Bienvenue, Marc-Andre!”

After the goaltender helped the organization to its third Stanley Cup of his tenure, days before Vegas claimed him in the 2017 Expansion Draft, another sign read, “Merci, Flower!”

Now, with Fleury set to play his final game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, it’s time for Penguins fans to say “au revoir” to the best goaltender in franchise history, one of the best to ever play the position, and a wonderful person absolutely beloved by the city.

“I mean, what's not to love? That's the question, honestly,” Kris Letang said. “Just his personality, there's not a mean bone in his body. He comes to the rink with a big smile on his face. He plays the game with a big smile. He's a great teammate, obviously. So, it’s hard not to love a guy like that.

“Especially when he came in as an 18-year-old, first overall pick, tons of pressure. But he comes to the rink with the same mindset, same mentality, battles hard, and he does it with a smile.”

That smile didn’t leave Fleury’s face too often when talking about the night ahead, and reflecting on his memories from 13 seasons of wearing black and gold.

“I feel like sometimes, growing older, I get a little softer than I used to with emotions, it feels like,” Fleury said with a laugh after the Minnesota Wild practiced in Cranberry on Monday. “So, I think maybe deep breath, look around, take a good look around. Good memories. I was very fortunate to play here for so long. A lot of good souvenirs from this place. It will be nice to do it one more time.”

When the 39-year-old signed a one-year extension in the summer, he confirmed that the 2024-25 season - his 21st in the NHL - would be his last.

Fleury said he didn’t want any special treatment, and wanted to just quietly drive down memory lane, reminiscing on some memories during each stop. With Minnesota getting into town on Saturday night after playing Philadelphia that afternoon, Fleury said he felt lucky having some extra time to walk around the place he used to call home, and visit with some familiar faces.

“He’s a great friend, and someone that I shared a lot of great times with,” Sidney Crosby said. “Been through a lot of adversity, too, basically growing up together in the league and trying to find our way. He means a lot to me, means a lot to the organization and I'm sure the fans.”

The bond between Fleury and the fans is remarkable, and it has remained constant throughout a tenure that had some spectacular moments, and some tough ones as well.

“I think it’s his personality, the energy that he brings and that he gives regardless of the situation,” Crosby said of the mischievous, competitive, fun-loving prankster. “He's really good at looking at the positives and he's got high expectations for himself, but he still finds a way to have fun, keep things light and find that balance."

The Penguins traded up to draft Fleury first overall in the 2003 draft because they wanted to resurrect the franchise from the net out, and felt like he was the right player to start building around.

Fleury stabilized the foundation, and was eventually joined by the likes of Crosby, Letang, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. That group of young guys advanced to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit in 2008 and ’09.

“I feel lucky I was part of it. Feel fortunate I got to live it, right, to learn the hard way with all those losses and the hard times,” Fleury said. “Obviously, I had nothing to do with the business side of it, the way that Mario (Lemieux) and Ron (Burkle) I think handled things and were able to turn it around. So many guys came in and were part of turning the team around a bit. We had good veterans to help us out. So, it meant a lot, going to the finals and winning that one in ’09. Because we started from just being young guys and losing a lot to becoming a good team and finding a way to win.”

Fleury rewrote the team's record books for goaltenders, owning the franchise records in wins (375), games played (667), shutouts (44), playoff wins (62), playoff games (115) and playoff shutouts (10). Fleury also handled the challenging situations he faced, like sharing the net with Matt Murray during the 2016 and ’17 championship runs, with remarkable class. It helped that the Penguins faithful were behind Fleury during those adversities.

“Sometimes I've had tough times, and I feel like the crowd was there for me trying to cheer me on, to keep going, keep pushing, getting better… people were still behind me and helping me out through it," Fleury said. "Our building was full for (so) many years. People came to the games, cheered us on.”

Whenever Fleury has returned to Pittsburgh over the last few years – first with the Golden Knights, then with Chicago, and now Minnesota – fans flock to the glass for warmups with their signs. They cheer for Fleury when he’s announced as a starter, and when he makes saves... really, whenever they get the opportunity.

He’s looking forward to experiencing that atmosphere one final time with his wife Veronique and their three children, daughters Estelle and Scarlett and son James. The girls were born in Pittsburgh, but Marc-Andre said they didn’t have a chance to bring them for a visit until now. Now that the kids are older, Marc-Andre feels they’ll be able to appreciate the significance of the night.

“I think they can see maybe they can see how good the fans have been to me over the years and stuff, so it will be cool to share with them,” Fleury said. “Obviously, I want to play good, I want to do well. Put on a good show one last time here. But also help my team.. so, I don’t want to get sidetracked out there. But at the same time, I want to enjoy the game. I have my family here, I’ve got some friends too, my mom. It will be special.”