CRANBERRY TWP (93.7 The Fan) – It’s not like he doesn’t smile all the time, but Friday the smile carried history with it as Marc-Andre Fleury went through a last practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex with a trio of all-time Penguins with whom he won three Stanley Cups.
“That might be what I love the most, you know,” Fleury said. “Just be on the ice and have a lot of shots, see the guys a bunch. Be able to chirp a little bit. That's a lot fun for me.”
Even in that nearly 90 minutes of time together, some competition came out. When asked about the rolling stop he made on a shot against Sidney Crosby, Crosby quickly said, you mean the one I then batted the puck out of the air and scored, as a huge smile came across his face.
It wasn’t just being with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, but mainly it was those three. You add up the number of practices, thousands of times those guys were together as, for some, teenagers, in their 20s and even into their 30s.
“When you spend every day with certain guys for, I don't know, 12 years or something like that, right?” Fleury said. “Like, and you go through tough times, especially early, and the good times also, obviously. And, it means a lot, you when you can battle with these guys for so long and win together and achieve your goals as a team and just going through routine every day together and the grind of it.”
He was talked into doing this. And what made it happen was the uniqueness of not just signing a ceremonial contract and showing up. Not just being honored in a game, but it was that chance to just hang with these teammates, then opponents, but always friends for a little longer.
“I feel like I've said goodbye like 17 times already to everybody,” Fleury said admitting he was also a little banged up after his final season and wasn’t planning on working out on the ice and didn’t. “And then we talked a few weeks back and I was like, (I’m at) home, kids in school and all. And I was, yeah, I think it'll be fun and spend some time, come in, right? Spend some time with the guys and the staff and see the fans and all that stuff too. So, yeah. I'm happy that it all worked out.”
In a typical Fleury modest, yet slightly concerned way, he said with a half-laugh that he is a little worried about giving up six goals and ruining the game Saturday night. We know he is going to play a period, we just don’t know which one against Columbus.
Fleury admits that he still loves hockey, everything about the game. He still loved being around the guys, practicing and the games. He still hasn’t found what will fill the void of not playing, but he’s not coming back to be an NHL goalie again.
“I'm older, slower, more hurt, you know, a little more sore, and yeah, I think it's time,” Fleury said.
But still good enough for 20 more minutes at PPG Paints Arena.
“It's a huge opportunity,” Fleury said. “I'm very thankful to finish where everything started for me.”