You’ll be hard pressed to find a more well-liked guy around the league than Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is looking to win his fourth cup in his fifth Stanley Cup appearance, and is also looking to become the first goaltender since Mike Vernon and Patrick Roy to win the Lord Stanley’s mug with two different teams.
Fleury was a core piece of the Penguins playoff run when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009 along with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. He was the longest serving member of the team after being selected first overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft before heading to Vegas in the expansion draft via trade.
In 2016, he was supplanted by Matt Murray in the post-season after suffering a concussion in late March. Fleury was then counted on in their 2017 run after Murray struggled early on, and played a pivotal role in helping Pittsburgh capture their fifth cup in franchise history.
With Fleury becoming the first goaltending since Billy Smith to reach the fourth round of the playoffs for the third consecutive year, he’s got a ton of support from his former Pens teammates.
In an interview TSN’s Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic, Crosby expressed that he’s pulling for his good friend and wishes nothing but the best for Fleury.
“I am happy for him,” Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby told The Athletic.
“He’s having a lot of fun, you can tell, and as a friend having played with him for a long time it’s great to see him doing well. He’s a great person who works really hard and he’s a big part of his team’s success right now.’’
Crosby knows that the expansion draft meant their time as teammates was coming to an end, which is why he believes Fleury is embracing that self-proclaimed “golden misfits” label as coined by some of the Golden Knights.
“I think he was motivated for sure,” Crosby said.
“Goaltenders are strong mentally and competitive; you have to be in order to play the position. Flower is the same, he believes in himself and loves the game. He wants to be there helping the team making the big saves. That’s exactly what he’s doing right now, they are playing some great hockey and he’s making big saves.’’
While Sid also has his name of the cup three times just like Fleury, you know deep down there's a piece of him inside that would love to be in his good friend's position right now.
But for now, Crosby will be able to finally rejuvenate his body after wrapping up his season in the middle of June in back-to-back seasons.
Knowing Sid, he'll come back hungrier than ever to make sure he's in Fleury's position this time next year.
To read the follow interview with Crosby and Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, click the link in the tweet below.
