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One last bloom
October 29, 2024, 1:09 PM ET [49 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
Tonight will be the final time Marc-Andre Fleury plays in the NHL in Pittsburgh. His likely Hall of Fame career has spanned 21 seasons and started when the Penguins moved from the #3 overall selection to the #1 pick to select Flower.

He comes into tonight with 562 career wins with 375 of them coming with his original team. He brings with him three Stanley Cup championships as well as a Vezina Trophy. Most of all he brings the personality the city of Pittsburgh and all around the league fell in love with. He is one of the most popular personalities of his generation and tonight should be quite the send off for him.

He is certainly making the most of his visit doing things you would expect him to do like having an impromptu practice session when he joined a youth practice



Here is Marc talking about his final time in Pittsburgh as a player



Here’s Sid on his friend and former teammate



Here's Sid navigating his former linemate crashing the scrum



And finally, to this point Marc-Andre has not gone into his bag of tricks to pull a prank on Sid, Geno, and/or Letang. If I were them I wouldn’t trust him.



My favorite memories of Marc-Andre Fleury began with his athleticism and his pad color choice. He was such a unique goaltender in how fast he was able to move side to side and his ability to make the outrageous saves very few could.

His run in the 2008 playoffs would have earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy, in my opinion. He finished that run with an amazing .933 save percentage and did his best to hold off one of the very best teams of the modern era in the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings.

The following year he robbed Alexander Ovechkin on a Game 7 breakaway while things were scoreless. It propelled the Penguins through the Eastern Conference. Then the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final Fleury stonewalled the powerful Red Wings and only allowed two goals in back-to-back 2-1 games. There was little room for error and he didn't make any in that pressure cooker situation. Famously, he used his athleticism and shuffled side to side to launch his body into Nicklas Lidstrom's final desperate effort to tie the game. The Penguins were champions



In 2017 with Matt Murray out with an injury and Fleury knowing he was going to be traded in the offseason he gave Penguins fans one final run when he was tremendous in the second round against the Washington Capitals. The Penguins were outplayed and if not for Fleury's excellent play they would have been eliminated before making their way to second Cup in a row.

Regardless of the game itself it will be a memorable night in Pittsburgh and the way this season has gone and will likely go you have to take advantage of the nights like this.

Thanks for reading!
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More from Ryan Wilson
» Flower met with adulation in final start in Pittsburgh
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» Flame out