Pens face former teammate Fleury
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"It's going to be an emotional night (Thursday) when we're facing him," said Fleury's close friend and fellow French Canadian Kris Letang.
Those same sentiments are shared by the rest of the team. Fleury has been beloved throughout the Penguins locker room ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2003, and many will find it bizarre seeing him in the opposing net.
"I tried not to focus on that," Letang said. "It became a big part of the business that we're in, you lose friends and make new ones. Obviously Marc-Andre was a special guy, a special player for the Penguins. It's going to fun to see him. It would be better (to see him) on our side."
But Fleury, who played 14 years in the Penguins organization after it drafted him first overall, is no longer on the Penguins' side, thanks to his selection by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
Fleury, who owns every Penguins franchise record for a goaltender, became expendable with the emergence of Matt Murray. The younger Murray, 23, shared the crease with Fleury last season and has helped Pittsburgh win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Murray credits much of his early success to Fleury.
"(Fleury) was definitely the biggest mentor I've had in my pro career," Murray said. "I wish I had more time to study under him and be around him. Unfortunately, we're on different sides now. It'll be interesting. It'll be a bit surreal seeing him at the other end, and competing against him. It'll be a lot of fun as well."
Murray, who continues to recover from a lower-body injury and hopes to start opposite Fleury on Thursday, recounted his first interaction with his elder mentor.
When Murray made the jump to pro hockey he joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The then 19-year-old had a historic debut in 2014-15. He won AHL Goalie of the Year and Rookie of the Year while setting a league record 304:11-minute shutout streak over the span of a calendar month.
That success caught the eye of the goaltender in Pittsburgh.
"We'd never really met before. (Fleury) sought out my number and texted me, 'Congrats on a great season. See ya next year in training camp,'" Murray said. "It was short, brief, but I still remember it to this day.
"That tells you everything you need to know about the type of person Marc-Andre is. He was a really good friend to me and helped me through every challenge that we faced. I can't thank him enough."
But perhaps no player on the roster was closer to Fleury than Pittsburgh's captain Sidney Crosby. The two were seatmates on the plane and spent a lot of time together during their dozen years as teammates.
And there's no doubt Crosby would love to score against his old friend.
"When you shoot on a goalie for 12 years I think he gets to know your tendencies pretty good," Crosby said. "I like to think I know a few things about him too."
Crosby added that if he does score he will have "a pretty big smile" on his face.
But one thing is certain, regardless of how the game plays out Fleury will not shy away from being vocal in his crease. It's just another aspect of his personality that made him so endearing to his teammates.
"I'll talk to them for sure. I always did. It's not something I'll change now," Fleury said.
"He's pretty vocal in there," Crosby said with a smirk. "If he's hooting and hollering that's probably not good for us. Hopefully it's not too much on his side."
But what's most important for both teams is getting a win, regardless of who is or isn't in the lineup.
"At this point it's a big game for both teams," Crosby said. "I'm sure it's one that he's been looking at for a while. We had a great time playing together. It's different looking at him on the other side. We're both going to try to do our best to come out to win."
