Fleury speaks for the first time about father’s death as he returns to action tonight!

On Nov. 26., we found out why Marc-Andre Fleury has left the Vegas Golden Knights’ organization on a personal leave as it was sadly revealed that his father Andre past away at age 63.

The Golden Knights had to make urgent changes to their lineup ahead of that Wednesday’s contest against the Predators in Nashville. The team made an emergency recall of goalie Garret Sparks.

Fleury finally joined his teammates over the weekend and is now expected to make his first start in more than two weeks Tuesday when the Golden Knights host the Chicago Blackhawks, coach Gerard Gallant confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

Despite having a hard time moving forward with the passing of his father, Fleury tries to remain his upbeat self as he faced media on Saturday and will be in between the pipes tonight. 

“My dad loved hockey, right?” he said with a query voice. 

This is how the Las Vegas Review-Journal described the interview: Fleury then bit his upper lip for a full second, made that disappointed ”tsk” sound out of the corner of his mouth that roughly translates as “damn, I miss him” and let out a brief sigh before the next question came his way.

Poor guy. 

His teammates are there to support him and Fleury himself believes a return to the ice will help him along in his grief. 

“It was a hard week, and I feel when you go back on the ice, it changes your mind,” Fleury said. “You’re trying to enjoy the game and be in the moment a bit. My teammates have been very supportive, too. And the fans. I’ve got so many nice notes. My friends and family. I feel very fortunate for that.”

The Knights fans feel extremely fortunate to have him and will undoubtedly cheer him on tonight in Vegas against the Hawks.