THANK YOU PITTSBURGH<\/p>\n
Marc-Andre Fleury included that message in the design of his mask for Friday\u2019s preseason game, his final appearance in black and gold, and reiterated it to the crowd before leaving the ice.<\/p>\n
“Some of the best times of my life, it\u2019s a big part because of you guys,” Fleury said.<\/p>\n
The city came out in droves to bid farewell to the beloved netminder, returning the sentiment by chanting \u201cTHANK YOU FLEURY!\u201d to cap off a night where they gave Flower his flowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reception was unreal,\u201d Sidney Crosby said. \u201cJust so deserving. And give a lot of credit to our fans for the way that they turned out and supported him and showed the love that he deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
To paraphrase something Crosby said the other day, there will never be another Marc-Andre Fleury. He is a unique player who put together a Hall of Fame career spanning 22 seasons, ranking him second all-time in wins and games played. His longest tenure was in Pittsburgh, where he spent 13 seasons from 2003 to 2017 and won three Stanley Cup championships.<\/p>\n
Fleury was a delight to watch with his talent, athleticism, and competitiveness. But what makes Fleury so special is his character. All of that combined endeared him to everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat’s not to love? That’s the question, honestly,\u201d Kris Letang said. \u201cJust 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\u2019s hard not to love a guy like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a brilliant idea by Kyle Dubas to give the retired goaltender a full-circle moment and allow the fans to properly salute Fleury in a Penguins uniform, rather than a different one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk a lot about the short-term, frankly, issues and matters and challenges. But I think, especially what I\u2019ve learned in a city like this that just values their sports teams and players that really bring special moments to the team, having a chance to do something like this for Marc-Andre \u2013 but also for the fans \u2013 became something that was important to us,\u201d said Dubas, Pittsburgh\u2019s President of Hockey Operations and GM.<\/p>\n
So, Fleury ultimately agreed to come in on a professional tryout contract, allowing him to spend a couple of days with the team. He practiced with the guys on Friday, then went through a morning skate on Saturday before playing one period that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a little worried about giving up six goals that one period,\u201d Fleury said with a laugh. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to, like, ruin the game or anything like that, right? But to have the opportunity to do it, I feel that’s how we spent most of our time together… it’s in that practice routine, game day routine, and having time with them in the locker room before practice or before the game and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Fleury’s night was first announced, the game quickly sold out, and people started gathering around PPG Paints Arena in the early afternoon. Minutes before doors opened, lines at the gates wrapped around the entire building. It was a scene reminiscent of playoff hockey, which was fitting, as Fleury was part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2009, \u201916 and \u201917.<\/p>\n
Emily Corcoran brought her son Gus, who started loving hockey about a year ago, and Fleury is his favorite.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have goalie equipment because he wants to be just like Fleury. He plays dek hockey as a goalie because he wants to be just like Fleury. When this happened, there\u2019s only so many moments you get with your kid, and this is it,\u201d Emily said. \u201cWhat we love about him is his passion without being rough. He just brings fun into the game. He keeps the fun in these games. He is just someone that I want my child to look up to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily and Gus were among the Penguins faithful who wanted to be inside for warmups so they could be down at the glass. Many of them were armed with the most heartwarming signs, thanking Fleury for the impact he has had.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to read them when I skate around, just something to do, right?\u201d Fleury grinned. \u201cBut everybody has been so kind to me and my family around here. It’s always fun to see those, when younger kids are writing and saying that they only play goalie and stuff, and they have always been watching. I don’t know, I think it’s obviously very flattering, but humbling, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wearing his bright yellow pads that were a nod to the early days, Fleury took the ice for warmups fourth-to-last, ahead of Kris Letang, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They took a photo together before heading back to the locker room, with Fleury scheduled to play the final frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe staff was great,\u201d Fleury said. \u201cThey asked me if I wanted the first or third. I thought in the first, I would be a little warm or loose after warming up. Then, I thought in the third \u2026 winning the game, that\u2019s something I want to be able to do again. I would love to just be able to win a game.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, when the Penguins returned for puck drop, Fleury stayed on the bench with his hat on \u2013 but the spotlight found him, and the crowd chanted his name. At that point, Fleury\u2019s former teammate who is now on the coaching staff gave him a little nudge.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Nick) Bonino, Bonino, Bonino came and told me, \u2018Hey, do you want to stand at the blue line one last time?\u2019\u201d Fleury said. \u201cI (said), \u2018Yeah, sure. Why not?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Fleury joined Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Bryan Rust and promptly got goosebumps during the national anthem. Then, with Pittsburgh holding a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes, it was time for the moment everyone had been waiting for.<\/p>\n
Fleury took the ice for the third period to loud cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd, who had been voicing their support for him all night. And what was so impressive is that the cheers never died down when it came to Fleury. Every single time he touched the puck or made a save, the crowd responded. They were focused entirely on No. 29. It was remarkable.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little surreal, a little crazy,\u201d Fleury said. \u201cBut still also comfortable, it felt like. Every time I played here with other teams, I always felt a little bit weird coming in and playing here. This time, it felt normal, like it used to. A lot of nerves too. I didn\u2019t want to mess up for the guys. I wanted to keep them in in the game. So, it was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Crosby said, Fleury looked really good stopping all eight shots he faced. After the buzzer sounded \u2013 which could barely be heard through the cheers \u2013 a shootout was held per Fleury\u2019s request. He managed to work in a pushup for old time\u2019s sake. Then, when the game ended, Crosby, Malkin and Letang had a moment together in the crease.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just smiling. Just happy,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cI think it’s one of those things that you don’t expect to get the chance to do. It doesn’t always work out that way. And for him to still be playing at the level that he is, and to accept to do this, you know? Some guys wouldn’t have accepted do this. And I think it was him who even wanted the shootout. He could have just called it at the game, but he wanted the breakaways [Laughs] That’s the thing about him, there’s never too many shots. It’s never enough. That passion’s always been there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guys convinced Fleury to do one final lap, with both teams staying out to tap their sticks, before an on-ice interview with his old friend Dan Potash. Crosby stayed in the runway to watch before Fleury walked down into the Penguins locker room one last time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like old times. It was nice,\u201d Fleury said. \u201cYou keep trying to make me emotional the last couple of days. The staff, the media, you guys, it was good. It was like we did so many times, right. I\u2019m thankful I got this. This opportunity to come back for one more. Sorry if I keep doing this to you guys and the fans. It was a lot of fun… I appreciate the support, the love I\u2019ve gotten over the years in Pittsburgh. It was a special night for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THANK YOU PITTSBURGH Marc-Andre Fleury included that message in the design of his mask for Friday\u2019s preseason game,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-174413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}