‘People don’t forget’ and that’s hurt Marc-Andre Fleury
Imagine a life in which you are constantly reminded of every mistake you鈥檝e ever made.
That time that you crashed dad鈥檚 car at age 16? Yep, it鈥檚 thrown in your face. How about the time that you forgot to pay for a candy bar at the local five-and-dime at age 11? It鈥檚 always mentioned. Each and every foible brought up and used as evidence of why you鈥檙e just not good enough, never were and never will be again.
Make no matter that you鈥檝e become a successful doctor, lawyer or whatever else. That means squat these days, because, as Jonah Hill once said in the movie Superbad, 鈥減eople don鈥檛 forget.鈥�
That鈥檚 kind of what it鈥檚 been like for Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh.
It doesn鈥檛 matter that Fleury was among the key contributors on teams that made back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009, or that his save as time expired helped secure the hallowed Cup in 鈥�09.
It is also worth mentioning that he almost single-handedly kept the team afloat last season while management watched the Mike Johnston experiment crash and burn.
Fleury continued to thrive after Mike Sullivan arrived. He was excellent up through March 31, 2016, when former teammate James Neal changed the course of his career with a simple wrist shot to the noggin during a 22-save, 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators.
The goaltender arrived at work the next day not feeling well, was diagnosed with a concussion and nothing was the same again. Matt Murray took over and backstopped what became a freight train of a Penguins team that eventually won the Stanley Cup.
Now before you get all, 鈥淢urray is better, move on Metz!鈥� on me, hear me out. This isn鈥檛 a cry for more playing time for Fleury. Of an ask that he not be moved, it鈥檚 simply an opportunity to point out that it hasn鈥檛 always been easy for a kid who left Sorel, Quebec at 18 and served as one of the first building blocks for what Pittsburgh has today 鈥� a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
For whatever reason, Fleury has always been known more for his great smile, gregarious nature and being an all-around awesome human being 鈥� not for anything that鈥檚 happened on the ice. Anytime you hear him discussed in hockey circles the conversation essentially goes, 鈥渉e鈥檚 a great guy, but鈥︹��
That isn鈥檛 fair.
He, like many players in the National Hockey League, has become the victim of narrative and that isn鈥檛 a fun place to be. Sadly, we live in a world where narrative trumps facts, statistics and the 鈥渆ye test.鈥� If enough experts say 鈥業T,鈥� whatever 鈥業T鈥� is, 鈥業T鈥� becomes fact.
Unfortunately, Fleury has had a couple of pretty high-profile breakdowns. One of the biggest came during the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championships, when he inadvertently undid a lot of his own great work when he misplayed a puck off of Team USA forward Patrick O鈥橲ullivan and into his own net. It was a nightmare scenario for him, and Canadians never let him forget it.
He shook that off, arrived in Pittsburgh and began his career. The team wasn鈥檛 good, but he was a big part of the success once it started to come. The two Stanley Cup runs happened and Fleury鈥檚 story had turned into a feel-good hit.
Then came 2012 and the Philadelphia Flyers, where was Sullivan鈥檚 鈥榡ust play鈥� mantra back then?
Fleury and his teammates were terrible. Too many penalties, too many hot tempters and not enough wins. They flamed out. That series saw one of then-general manager Ray Shero鈥檚 best Penguins鈥� teams fall apart, but all people seemed to talk about was Fleury.
It came just three years after a championship that he very much participated in, but it helped build the a narrative that has never been shaken 鈥� 鈥淔leury鈥檚 not a playoff goaltender.鈥�
That narrative grew when he allowed 14 goals in a three-game span to the New York Islanders in 2013. Then-coach Dan Bylsma turned to Thomas Vokoun, who started all but one game the rest of the way.
We鈥檒l never know what would have happened had he gone back to Fleury for the following series against the Ottawa Senators.
His narrative never considers his 53-playoff victories, which ranks 15th among all goaltenders since 1967.
It is and has always been amazing that a couple of bad moments have labeled his entire career, when there have been so many great ones.
Fleury ranks second in wins (355) among goalies with more than 50 starts since 2006. He has faced the fourth-most shots over that span (17,067), has made the fourth-most saves (15,596) and has the fifth-most shutouts (41). He ranks second in playoff wins (53) and third in shutouts (8).
The 31-year-old worked hard with sports psychologist and goaltending coach Mike Bales to rebuild following those rough patches in 鈥�12 and 鈥�13 and has been one of the best in the league through last season.
Between the 2013-14 season and that fateful day last March, Fleury ranked fifth in the league in wins (123), ninth in save percentage (.917) and second in shutouts (20).
Fleury ranks 16th in league history with 372 wins, which ranks him third among active goaltenders. He鈥檚 also a lock to become the 13th goaltender to 400 wins.
As I said earlier, this isn鈥檛 a call to keep the kid from Sorel, who arrived as a bright-eyed smiling sprout and bloomed to become the Penguins鈥� Flower. It was simply a call to those around the league and in Pittsburgh to realize that he鈥檚 been a pretty big part of all the good that has happened here.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and company typically get the credit when things are going well, but when things have gone badly Fleury has carried the load, and unfairly so.
There is a chance that Fleury has played his final game in a Penguins鈥� jersey. His name is circulating in trade speculation with the league鈥檚 deadline looming on Wednesday. Even if he stays, he鈥檒l move on one way or another this summer. Murray鈥檚 age, contract and above all, his mostly spectacular play have made that a reality.
鈥淭he Flower鈥� will lay roots somewhere else next season, and it will be tough for those of us who鈥檝e watched his entire career play out in what seems like the blink of an eye. Though it will be great to see that trademark smile, which has been hidden at times this season, re-emerge, as it inevitably will with getting back to playing regularly somewhere.
Some people will only remember the bad, but I can assure you that there are far more who will never forget what Fleury has meant to the Penguins.