Fleury’s Last Game in Pittsburgh Filled with Love and Gratitude

As the final seconds ticked off the clock during Marc-Andre Fleury’s final game in Pittsburgh, he made a save reminiscent of the save in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final versus Detroit. “I thought about that... I was like, that’s good. Nice. Like old times, you know?” he said with a grin.

The old times were on everybody’s mind during this special night, which ended with Fleury being named the First Star in Minnesota's 5-3 win. He was grateful for the opportunity to thank the fans one last time, with his teammates and a couple of old friends - Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang - sticking around to watch.

“I feel very fortunate… those were some of the best years of my life. I really appreciate it. It’s hard to say goodbye. Thank you very much for all these years, guys,” Fleury said to an arena filled with Penguins faithful. They wanted to soak up every last minute with the beloved, fan-favorite netminder, who helped usher in the next era of championship hockey after being drafted first overall in 2003.

Fleury held it (mostly) together during that on-ice interview. But once he reached the locker room, Fleury got choked up trying to articulate the emotions he felt bidding farewell to the place he called home for so many years, and welcomed him with open arms from the beginning.

“It's maybe hard to believe that's the last time,” Fleury said before adding with a watery laugh, “Told you I’ve gotten soft! Yeah, hard to believe, but so appreciative, from the bottom of my heart, with what everybody's done for me over the years. And the support, right?... Family was here, friends were here. We all have great memories from here, so it means a lot.”

Marc-Andre and his wife Veronique are childhood sweethearts, so she has been a part of this journey from the start.

“Pittsburgh means so much to us. So much happened here,” she said. “We were teenagers when Marc started. We got engaged, got married. I graduated here (from Robert Morris University), had two kids. Our daughters were born here. Marc won three Cups. It's just, I feel like I always refer to Pittsburgh. So, being back has been amazing.”

Veronique traveled to Pittsburgh from Minnesota earlier in the day with their three children, Estelle, Scarlett, and son James. Veronique said Estelle, their oldest, remembers those Stanley Cups. She also remembers everyone she met around the organization, even though it's been a few years.

“Coming here, she's been very emotional seeing people that have been here since we were here,” Veronique said. “Scarlett was young. She was 2 when we left, so she remembers when we look at pictures. But that's where they're from, so we're trying to teach them that, yeah, you're from Pittsburgh.”

With the kids currently playing a lot of sports, at first, Veronique wasn’t sure if they’d be able to make the trip. But it all came together, and she couldn’t be happier that it all worked out.

“The Penguins were amazing. They reached out and they wanted to make it special,” she said. “I'm so glad, because it’s our last time. Coming here, it was insane, just being in the warmup, just coming in… the love here, I can't talk for Marc, but I've never seen anything like it since we left Pittsburgh.

“I might have taken it for granted when we were here for 14 years. But when he started getting traded, the fans were very welcoming in other cities, but it's never been really been Pittsburgh-level. Especially when he comes back. He's been saying that when he gets to the hotel and there's people waiting and people watching warmups, even the players on our team are like, it’s special."

The fans made sure to give Fleury a worthy sendoff, lining up hours before doors opened before flooding in wearing all sorts of No. 29 apparel and carrying signs showing their appreciation and gratitude. For example, one during warmups read, ‘Fleury, thank you for inspiring me to be a goalie and to work hard!’

Brothers Eli and Zack Tokash, who flew in from West Virginia, were among those gathered in Minnesota’s zone for warmups to catch a glimpse of Fleury up close.

“I don’t know hockey without Fleury. The opportunity to see him in his last game in Pittsburgh where I grew up watching him and loving the game of hockey, it was worth any financial barriers or time that it took to try and make it,” Eli said.

“The joy that he always brought to hockey, whether it was the pranks or other fun things that he would do – it was always such a fun time watching him, and is something I am never going to forget,” Zack said.

During Fleury’s initial return to Pittsburgh after being claimed by Vegas in the 2017 Expansion Draft, the Penguins played a welcome back video that had the goaltender dealing with watery eyes. “I couldn’t see s**t,” he joked. So, this time around, the Penguins went a more lighthearted route with the tribute - paying homage to those infamous pranks. But Fleury decided to play it safe.

“I just told the ref, like, drop the puck, let’s go,” he laughed. “I didn’t want to look, because last time I was here, they showed a video and it made me emotional. And we were on the power play, and I was like, let’s go, drop the puck, get this going, you know?”

Fleury ended up facing 29 shots in the game – a fitting amount – while getting the victory to cap off a special evening for a special player. Before he did one final twirl in front of the crowd, Fleury stopped to hug Crosby and Letang, who told him to enjoy the lap and enjoy the moment.

“I thought the fans had great ovations, and with the videos and things like that,” Crosby said. “He means a lot to the teams, the fans, the organization, to the guys that played with him… so, mixed emotions. Happy that he had the opportunity to play in this game and get that kind of ovation. And then obviously sad to see that it’s his last year. He’s a great goalie and a great guy.”