Report: Penguins stars open up about former teammate Fleury

The popular goaltender left quite an impression over his 13 years in Pittsburgh…

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Report: Penguins stars open up about former teammate Fleury
Keystone Press

With the Pittsburgh Penguins set to face off against the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time, tonight’s game holds historical significance. Forget all that though… it’s the emotional significance that Pens fans will be tuning in for tonight. 

If the lineup projects are accurate, the Penguins will face former fan favorite Marc-Andre Fleury tonight in the Las Vegas desert. Acquired from the Penguins in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Fleury spent the first 13 seasons of his NHL career with the Penguins before moving on this past offseason. He was drafted 1st overall by the Penguins in 2003 and was instrumental in the team’s 2009, 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championships. 

Fleury still a popular player amongst the Penguins’ fanbase and even more so amongst the Penguins’ roster. "It's going to be an emotional night,” said Fleury's close friend Kris Letang.

Fleury’s successor in the Pens crease Matt Murray can’t say enough good things about his former teammate.  He recalls his very first interaction with the Penguins legend, after the 2014-15 AHL season. ”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,” continued Murray. “He was a really good friend to me and helped me through every challenge that we faced. I can't thank him enough."

Perhaps Fleury’s best friend though, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, isn’t letting the emotion of the moment seep in to his game. He’s focused on the task at hand. 

"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."