A Marc-Andre Fleury Video at 500 Wins

[@janeen3967]

He not only got VGK to the playoffs for 4 years but he is a really nice humble person. It was pure magic to watch him, even in practices. I doubt we will get him back but one can dream.

[@imgriffm4426]

Vegas will make the playoffs without him. Fleury never had to carry a team..

[@janeen3967]

@@imgriffm4426 Well, it is the pacific division. I disagree about Fleury tho but thanks for your comment.

[@csanadhorvath]

no chance of him going back to Vegas

[@imgriffm4426]

@@janeen3967 One year he had to carry a team?

[@johnmaxwell1750]

Fleury is not only a good guy, he's a hysterically funny prankster who keeps everyone loose. Upon retirement the NHL should give him a special award. Fleury's ice water prank which he pulled off on members of the Red Wings during should get special NHL recognition as the "Best Prank of All Time."

[@maxrates]

The goalies that can stay around for this long and still be effective are the true legends of the position. It's much easier for skaters, they can move up and down the lineup.

[@jackl52]

He is such a great guy. Despite some ups and downs in his career, he still was a great goalie.

[@1madmaxx80]

Last of the true workhorse goalies I think. Highly skeptical we see many more goaltenders approach the 500 career win mark. IMHO Flower is a 1st ballot HOFer and easily a top 25 goalie all time.

[@yoholmes273]

Tell that "workhorse" idea to Pete D. Of he hadn't benched him during the Playoffs for no reason Vegas would've done a lot better.

[@tyler_okamoto]

He’s been my favorite player since 2009, when I first got into the NHL (I had always liked hockey, but seeing that Game 7 and that save at the dying seconds finally launched my love for the sport). His flair and personality on and off the ice is incredible. He’s had ups and downs, but has aged like wine. We gave my son the second middle name of Fleury.

[@flattrack33]

Watching Fleury got me into hockey and playing goalie at the local roller arena. I was originally a Flyers fan (family team) but watching him while I was in high school made me fall in love with the Penguins. Great player but most importantly a great guy!

[@artgosling2696]

How did your family react to you coming out as a pens fan?

[@bdonaghu]

1:14 I understand the comparison, but Fleury was brought in the year he was drafted. UPL was drafted back in 2017, so it's already been 4 years since his draft year and he's still got only 8 games in his NHL career. Not the same as an 18-year old Fleury being thrown to the wolves for 21 games.

[@Bobsafudgee]

I'm from a small town about ten minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. Just a couple weeks before MAF was claimed by Vegas, he donated a ton of hockey equipment and had a playground built for the local Boys and Girls Club. Always a stand up guy even while he knew his time in the burgh was over.

[@johnmaxwell1750]

In Pittsburgh until this year defense has never been the cornerstone of the franchise. Offense was the cornerstone of his franchise. With less than stellar defense in front of him it is not surprising that Fleury at time did not play well. In all four his Vegas years the defense in front of him was better than almost every year while he was in Pittsburgh. Better defense usually yields better goalie stats.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

So well said. I cannot believe the number of NHL insiders who don't grasp this. Bylsma's defensive scheme was nonexistent, absolutely awful. As someone who watched every game since 2006, I will forever maintain that Fleury carried the Penguins through numerous autumns when the rest of the team wasn't prepared. Fleury bore a good amount of responsibility in the infamous 2013 Islanders series for sure, but in the 2011 Lightning series the squad was decimated with injuries, whereas the 2012 Flyers series was a total psychological and systematic collapse by the team in front of him. I cannot recall another playoff series that was such pond hockey, particularly defensemen backing away down to the bottom of the faceoff circles on rushes. Just terrible structure--not to mention the horrible discipline. I shudder to think what would've happened if the Rangers had not completed the comeback in Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the second round in 2014 (despite Fleury matching Lundqvist), because the team needed to part with Bylsma, especially for the goalies' sake. Even the advanced stats fail to capture how much Fleury had to make up for the total lack of meaningful defense in front of him 2009-14. A merely good goalie wouldn't have cracked .910 in the regular season. Other important notes THG did not mention: -Fleury suffered an injury in late March 2016. That's the reason Murray took over, not because Fleury did anything wrong. Simple SV% isn't everything, but there's a .921 staring us right in the face for the regular season. He finally had a defense after the long-overdue departure of Bylsma. -Fleury had a no-trade clause entering the expansion draft. He could have held the team to that if he wanted, but he agreed to rescind it and get traded to Las Vegas when the team asked, because the front office believed it'd be best for the team. One of thousands of reflections of his character through the years. And one of several trades the Golden Knights front office laughed themselves to tears with. -While I can understand the argument of Las Vegas gear for this video--especially because he was the face of the franchise from the start--he was the initial cornerstone of the Penguins' rebuild through the darkest days since before Lemieux and merely overshadowed by Crosby and Malkin. He was a "megastar" in Las Vegas because there really wasn't a bigger name in the expansion draft at the time, and the media narrative was 100% limelight on Fleury. Conversely, the Pittsburgh media totally brushed past the nonexistent defense and crucified Fleury throughout the early 2010s. That narrative prevailed nationally as a result, especially because the focus was generally on Crosby, Malkin, Letang, etc. when they won and Fleury when they lost, regardless of the score or actual game flow. The press was hellbent on turning him into the equivalent of Grant Fuhr, which is an absolute travesty that flies in the face of how crucial he was to the Penguins throughout his 15 years in Pittsburgh.

[@Vegaslocal]

I was at T-mobile for what Vegas fans call "the superman save". Everyone there thought it was a goal, me included. I was like "did I really see that? How is that not a goal?" until they replayed it on the scoreboard. Then it seemed even more remarkable. Vegas fans love him not just because of what he did on the ice and in the locker room but for him being a great human being -- which he is. Nothing against our current goalies but I wish he was still in his gold pads on Vegas ice.

[@pensavspatsfandom98]

Flower! He’s a Hall of Famer! What a great career he’s having!

[@LilyWater84]

I feel like part of Flowers lack of will to retire after this season comes from fans. Whenever he’s in Pittsburgh people cheer for him, even after he left. Now that he’s in Chicago I see Vegas fans still love the guy. He’s just a great personality that I (and I think many others) love, so even if his teams have thrown him for their own reasons the fans love him. I see him going somewhere after Chicago, for 2~ years to take 2nd place overall and then heading back home to Canada or Vegas (as a resident). Great career by Fleury, hopefully “so far” (would another 2 years count as so far? Idk)

[@BoyNamedSue4]

I remember thinking he was done that last year in Pittsburgh. Five years later and still going strong.

[@kirbyholwerda3178]

Awesome video! Fleury is a example of what being Team first looks like and one of the greatest of all time.

[@jamesegan2742]

Fleury is my favourite goalie and maybe even player. A real class act who was treated very shabbily by Vegas (boo to them!). I think MAF still has a lot of quality hockey in him (he won again tonight against the Caps, and posted his season average .913 save percentage). A great guy for the locker room and for the fans…would LOVE to seem him come to Toronto to help us get over the top! Great channel!

[@alohastate8256]

One of the classiest person not only in hockey, but all of sports

[@colliesis]

It's a fascinating career and I'm glad I caught the end of it! Assuming this is his last year, of course.

[@Nikkerman]

I had always respected MAF, even as a kid in 09 when I hated every single other penguin I liked him. So when he went to the Knights and became an even better goalie for the Knights, he became one of my favorite players.

[@ScarecrOmega]

I still remember him letting in that bad goal from the Juniors for Team Canada and other bad goals early on and people saying he is a bust.

[@brandonkelley6710]

Flecury he was a terrific goaltender for the penguins. And I think that he went to Vegas did well with that now if you can do that with the Chicago Blackhawks to finish out his career he would make an excellent Hall of famer for any team.

[@shaunchappell784]

Fleury is a perfect example of, Form is temporary....Class is permanent.

[@KGBT-PLUS]

Love these deep dive player analysis videos. Keep it up!

[@quag311]

Love the flower. Such a genuine guy.

[@1bert719]

I love the fact that even now I hear people saying he isn't Hall worthy. This guy is a superb athlete and great advert for hockey. And I never liked any teams he played for but still cheer for the guy. 😉 Very similar comments to those levelled at Chris Osgood throughout his career.

[@imnotyourfriendbuddy1883]

If Osgood, Joseph, and Vernon aren't in, Fleury shouldn't be either.

[@1bert719]

@@imnotyourfriendbuddy1883 I agree with that, especially Vernon who won cups in 2 decades for 2 teams and still gets dumped on. All are hall worthy.

[@RobdaVegasMailman]

Already have tickets for January 8th, when Fleury returns to the Fortress. Suffice to say that it'll be an emotional evening.

[@nneichan9353]

fans enjoy MAF beyond just his being a good goalie, he is a fun person and a class guy.

[@lancelang186]

I really want him back to Vegas with a smaller contract, he is literally playing better games than Lehner with a much worse defensive team, tho Vegas’s defenses are also shaky.

[@kylespencer7756]

good video. I feel like his good guy personality, modern media, the come back story he had in Vegas after his career seemed to be over, and the team in front of him for all those years in Pittsburgh inflated his reputation among fans. while everyone else was suprised he had never won a vezina, I was wondering where all the fanfare came from.

[@BvG_Venom]

Grew up as a Pens fan with him as my favorite player. Always felt he was an above average goalie on a team where defense wasn't a priority. My dad would give me a look when he let in a beachball. Always seemed great in shootouts

[@malmn]

I was there in Finland when he shot the puck off the Canadian d-man and the puck ended up in the net for a loss in the goal medal game. It is amazing to see how his career progressed from there.

[@TylerMorganShow]

Great goalie.

[@patward8542]

Thanks for doing this Shannon. I don’t know if you saw my comment a few days ago but I did ask for this. So I’m taking credit but you did all the work!

[@SMG2fanatic]

It has been a treat having him on the Hawks. I think it’s the logical move to trade him at the deadline if we’re too far out of the playoffs but I’d hate to see him go.

[@janeen3967]

I hope he stays. I just got his jersey.

[@christhornycroft3686]

He's played on some great teams, which have helped, but he's hardly been the weak link on any of those teams. And, to emphasize that point, have the Penguins won the Cup since he left? Sure, he didn't play as big a role in the second Cup win, but since he was picked up by Vegas, Pittsburgh has struggled to get back to the dance. For me, he's a bit like Luongo, often bashed by fans and critics unjustly. But to me, he's easily a hall of famer, and I've never really cheered for the teams he's played for, with the possible exception of Vegas that first year. After what happened there around that time, I was really rooting for something good to happen for that fanbase. It would have made for a nice story if they'd won that year, but on the flip side, at least Ovechkin got himself a ring. He also deserved it.

[@Aaronlewinterukulele]

Great video! Humor ! Said what I was about to say. I enjoy every video you make!

[@vegasgoldenknightsenjoyer6521]

Will always cherish my Fleury jersey, best smile in Hockey history

[@topiheimola69]

Puljujärvi has entered the chat

[@BeastOfMetal1989]

I will remind people that Pittsburgh had to trade for this first overall pick. Good thing Keenan was only the head coach down in Florida at that moment, or else Fleury might have gone there to replace Luongo... Also, Fleury was the only Penguin to exit in the first round in 2013, as he was replaced by Vokuon, who helped Pittsburgh get to the third round before everything related to the Iginla trade blew up in their faces and the Bruins swept them to go to the Finals. And as far as 2017 goes, Fleury was the primary reason Washington died in the second round for the millionth time, although he certainly got help at points. Like the moment in gane seven where Crosby fell trying to cover Ovechkin, which led to him sniping a puck...right into Fleury's stick handle, and from there into the rafters. I will say the sight of Ovie practically folding into himself while on one knee was hilarious, though.

[@towny72]

Penguin fans continue to say it was a "cap move" I still feel you do everything you can do to keep a HOF netminder. Goalies like MAF might come to a franchise once a lifetime.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

He's definitely one of the best goalies in the last 20 years - an amazing career. I'm not even a Vegas fan, but I can't help but root for him. I just loved seeing "the best saves of the week" and he was always shown at least once every week last year, featuring some of the most beautiful and acrobatic saves. He is amazing. I will be honest, I kind of hate Vegas this year because of what they did to him - completely soured me on that team whereas before I was quite neutral. He deserved so much more respect.

[@janeen3967]

The team and the fans didn't get rid of him, the stupid GM did.

[@JP_HKY_777]

My favourite NHL player of all-time! I absolutely love the 🌸

[@bruddahj3323]

As a vegas fan, fleury will always be welcome. I hate to see him leave

[@CT-1255]

Fleury is my favorite hockey player and really got me into the sport I finally bought his jersey and immediately they traded him to the Blackhawks

[@Brandon-qd2lb]

Damn his playoff streak is on the line this season

[@PersianBrosPRP999]

2013 was not an early playoff exit for Pittsburgh. It was when Fleury got pulled and they used Vokoun

[@father042]

Pretty much a HoF lock, best goalie of the generation

[@mistatrollge3184]

Lol

[@esharp48]

Your dream scenario at the end is mine too. I was hoping they would have handled it better so Fleury would come back next off season with a much more team friendly deal and retire a Knight. Probably not likely, but a girl can dream....

[@sparkywildcat8174]

Fleury is one of those goalies that can put a team on his back. Some nights he can't be beat. Hahaha...Shiny new free agents? Pacioretty, Stone, Eichel.....and PIETRANGELO (28 minutes-geez what's he gonna have left for the playoffs?)

[@timmie2k3]

I always thought he was a fantastic goalie who, for whatever reason, never really got the respect he probably deserved. It showed in Pittsburgh with them choosing Murray over him (I bet they wish they'd stuck with Fleury now) and with how Vegas seemed to casually toss him to the side in favour of Lehner while ultimately trading him for a bag of pucks. It just seems odd to look back at all that while knowing he's absolutely a future HOF member. And through it all he's been nothing but a class act.

[@nathanjohnson2382]

I’m a hawks fan but I’m mad we have Fluery instead of Vegas I’m not a big fan of Vegas but I had a roommate who was from Vegas obviously the Knights being their 1st professional team he got hooked and he’s loved Fluery and so do the rest of the fans. That was the prime of his career and the face of the franchise they wouldn’t have made the playoffs the 1st few years without him imo

[@cardiac19]

My guess is Colorado or Edmonton at the deadline.

[@sakunos]

He needs to come back to Pittsburgh in deadline.

[@ssmith87]

As a Penguins fan it was tough seeing Fleury get replaced by Murray, we still would’ve won those cups with Fleury starting. To me Murray never passed the eye test. The other goalies that were winning Vezina trophies over a Fleury I thought it was a little weird because most of them played on really good defense teams Pittsburgh never plays excellent defense just good enough they don’t play solid team defense. Fleury bailed them out of their defensive mistakes so many times. I bet compared to the goal tenders that were winning vezinas and we’re higher in voting, I do wonder what the average shots were per game and those real good quality scoring chances compared to what Fleury was facing. Shootouts were almost a guaranteed win so a lot of times I felt like he made Pittsburgh’s record better than what it really could’ve been. Those things don’t go into consideration when voting for a Vezina.

[@rivahkillah]

I always liked MAF, even though I never thought he was THAT great. A little too streaky IMO. And then he went to the Knights and it seemed like he truly showed that he wasn't being dragged to success by his team.

[@jewishjedi]

Not sure where Flower plays next year, but I know he'll end up in the HoF.

[@Oldtymehockey67]

Great video! Pens stuck with Fleury and he turned out to be a star. Of course he had a great D in front of him. Edmonton could learn a lesson here with Skinner, because I think he’s good. Just build a great D in front, if that’s possible in Oil country.

[@OttawaNow]

Fleury or Moog, who is better?

[@guillaume450]

In the french media they call it " the sainte trinité" wich translate roughly to holy trinity, the 3 best goaltender in win categorie : patrick roy, martin brodeur and marc-andre fleury. If im not mistaking the 4th goalie in win would be roberto lungo who** is also french.

[@aralornwolf3140]

who is*

[@sdeepj]

Game 7 of the 2009 Finals was the most consequential game of Mark Andre Fleury’s and Chris Osgood’s careers. Had the Wings won the game, Osgood would have been Conn Smythe winner and label of being “good” goalie behind a great team would be gone. And there would be doubts about Fleury, especially with Murray backstopping the Pens in ‘16 and’17

[@brandonschroeder934]

As a red wings fan I would laugh if he came to Detroit it would just be funny is all I know it probally wouldn’t happen but him going back to the burg would be cool even if it was just so he could retire it will be interesting what happens

[@MatthewKonvict]

I honestly want to see him retire in Pittsburgh. If he went back it be a huge lift for fans and team I think too.

[@hockeyinalabama]

If Ferguson had gotten hurt, they could've always traded for David Ayres. ;)

[@XaviRonaldo0]

Wasn't he the fastest to 500 too? Or was it the youngest?

[@stormdragon4758]

I hope he signs for another year or two with a decent team so he can catch Roy. He’s 51 games back

[@bdubs2457]

Did he have two 40 win seasons or am I just seeing the board wrong?

[@beardupbeerdown7355]

MAF best cap era goalie

[@Atlievan]

Luongo, Lundqvist and price over Fleury

[@allyemonster]

As a pens fan. I hope he pulls a modano and retires with Pittsburgh.

[@johnsohn653]

Wings sign him to a 3 year contract to be Tandem with Ned. Wins a cup with both the Penguins and Detroit ...If only

[@davidh1927]

He has 3 more years or so in the tank.........

[@anninurminen6726]

Remarcable

[@lewthrasher4194]

1A goalies are starting to understand that if they want to continue playing that they become the 1A/B goalie.

[@vooswing]

Letting him go is the worst decision of Knights management so far , they should have kept him for the last year of his contract and hopefully resigned him at a backup rate so he could retire here. Brossoit (9.11) and Lehner (9.06) are playing pretty good hockey but some of the excitement is gone from Knights hockey.

[@alandewtie1616]

Let's look. at it this way and compare milestones . Their is only one other player in Marc Andre's age group that has reached that kind of milestone yes Alexander Ovechkin. If anyone thinks what Fleury did was easy you have no understanding of how get success in sport . Fleury did not have excuses just moved a head and did it .

[@kieranstevens2688]

Okay okay, hear me out. Fleury wants to keep playing, but maybe wants to be closer to home...the Habs trade Jake Allen and shore up some of the holes in the lineup and pick up Fleury. Now you have a Price Fleury tandem, arguably the best Canadian goaltenders of the modern era. I know it'll never happen but how amazing would that be.

[@damonwebb813]

Say Fluery retires........ Can see both Pitts and Vegas fighting to get him to sign a one day retire as our guy🤔

[@Vladiator01]

69 shut outs nice

[@aaronhockey8803]

Stanley Cup champion

[@Mach141]

I'm watching him at this very moment. He just gave up a soft one to the Caps

[@thomaslatimer571]

I’m sorry Shannon & forgive my Pettiness but I still can’t Believe VGK got Rid of him for nothing. I understand Cap but I’m sorry you have A HOF Goaltender playing up to the contract you gave him & you get rid of him of a Vezina season none the less because of your own failures of cap management. So he has To Suffer in Chicago and when he should have finished his Career here!

[@AC-xq4hh]

I'm with you on that. Management decided to build the team without him in mind, he wasn't "too expensive". He is and was worth every bit of that 7 mil per year. I really hope he comes back to Vegas on a cheaper contract but I know it just won't happen

[@thomaslatimer571]

@@matthewdaley746 yea I know because if he’s not perfect kick him to the curb.

[@thomaslatimer571]

@@matthewdaley746 I was being sarcastic

[@JamesSomersetActor]

I still want him to retire as a Pen 🏒🐧🥅

[@nemtall]

501 wins

[@risk_it_4_the_biscuit]

UPL was drafted 3-4 years ago, not similar to Fleury

[@skyscraper5910]

Vegas fans are so emotionally attached to MAF. Lenher, although with his inconsistencies, has good numbers in net. .906 (currently) is still good. Maybe if they treated him so terribly that would also improve.

[@RobdaVegasMailman]

I'm a fan of Panda's and I hate to see how he's treated at times. That said, he seems to find a way to feed off of it. It doesn't make things right but that's a testimony to how tough he is.

[@skyscraper5910]

@@RobdaVegasMailman true!

[@suburbanindie]

Fleury is a good goaltender but he's definitely overrated. He should not be in the HOF but he will make it because he's a locker room guy. Chris Osgood should go in first.

[@KevinJL]

Ok

[@Storm-jn5ct]

MAF may of won his cups in Pitt but he will always be a Golden Knight

[@JBTriple8]

No he will always be a Penguin like Crosby,Malkin and Super Mario

[@cowsports5074]

@@JBTriple8 no he will always be a hawk like Kane toews and Keith

[@keithp2279]

Overrated

[@strahinjagov]

🤡

[@colinsharp7498]

First

[@Cup_in_6]

Dude shannon don’t even start to blame vegas with how the relationship ended you’re better than that. Walsh was doing everything he could to sabotage a trade. Even telling teams he would retire if traded. Plus, nobody forgot about how pathetic and childish that sword in the back was. If fleury wasn’t such a child about another goalie being better than him things wouldn’t have ended the way they did. Dude seems to enjoy chicago so idk what the big deal was. Should’ve asked for a full NMC but Vegas still gave him a 10 teamer. They could’ve shipped him to Buffalo. So sick of this dumb narrative. If you were a knights fan you wouldn’t just laugh at the sword in the back. During a playoff run.. couldn’t be more childish and selfish and I don’t look at fleury the same after. Love the guy but that was inexcusable. Team is doing just fine too and don’t act like every single hockey fan doesn’t wish their owner and front office went for a cup 100% every year. Anybody who doesn’t want that is just lying. Could not ask for a better owner as a fan. He wants a cup just as much as we do