Marc-Andre Fleury: Pittsburgh Penguins forgotten hero

Marc-Andre Fleury’s future with the Pittsburgh Penguins is almost indefinitely over. But he leaves Pittsburgh in a far better place than he found it. 

In the movie The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart, says “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This rings true for athletes. Generally, they either go out on top or you stick around too long. Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins is an example of the first.

With his third Stanley Cup, he has cemented his legacy in the city of champions. It can’t get any greater than it is right now. And Fleury’s time in Pittsburgh is likely over, thanks to the expansion draft and salary cap. His time with the Penguins has a storybook ending, leaving the franchise as the best goalie in team history.

Whether Fleury is selected by the Vegas Golden Knights, bought out, or traded to another team, his time in Pittsburgh is over. He’s come to terms with it, embracing a role as a mentor. Fleury helped groom his own replacement, which is sort of ironic. But at the same time, perhaps this is fitting for a quintessential team player.

Fleury was one of the first players to get a skate around the rink with the Stanley Cup. He made sure to pass it on to Murray. Perhaps the passing of the Stanley Cup is a metaphor, describing how Fleury has passed the keys to the franchise over to his replacement.

In life, they say you should leave a place better than you found it. Fleury can rest easy knowing this is true for his time with the Penguins. They traded up to the first overall spot to take him in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. In hindsight, it was one of the most impressive first rounds of all-time. Among the players selected were Eric Staal, Ryan Suter, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Zach Parise, Dion Phaneuf, Brent Burns and Ryan Kesler. But looking back, the Penguins were still smart to draft Fleury because he wound up being a franchise goaltender for roughly a decade.

He didn’t have the prettiest start to his NHL career, making his debut at the age of 18 during the 2003-04 season. During that season, Fleury and the Penguins struggled, finishing with the league’s worst record. But it was then Pittsburgh first realized how unselfish and how much of a team player their first overall pick was. Fleury was lent to Team Canada for the World Juniors and sent back to the QMJHL after that. His $3 million bonus played a large role in it. Fleury offered to forfeit the bonus to stay with the Penguins.

During the 2005-06 season, Fleury emerged as the Penguins starter, playing 50 games after supplanting Sebastien Caron and Jocelyn Thibault as the leading goalie. From that moment on, he was a fixture in the Penguins net until the 2016-17 season, playing in at least 50 games in each full season.

Fleury’s legacy in Pittsburgh can be summed up by his 2016-17 season. After the 2015-16 season, Fleury knew Murray was going to be the primary goaltender moving forward. He didn’t whine one bit.

"“Fleury is probably the best team player in all of sports,” said Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, via NBC Sports. “He carried us at different times of the season, carried us through two rounds of the playoffs… I talked at the start of the season about keeping two goalies and these guys did exactly what I hoped they’d do. They got us the cup.”"

At least Fleury gets to go out as he should be remembered  — a Stanley Cup champion. Few Penguins fans will forget his save in the dying seconds of the 2009 Finals, cementing the franchise’s third Stanley Cup title.

Fleury’s last act with Pittsburgh is an extremely unselfish one. The NHL Expansion Draft requires teams to expose one goalie who fits the games played requirements. Fleury and Murray both qualify. The Penguins can only protect one of them. Fleury had an ace up his sleeve — a no movement clause. He could have refused to waive it, forcing the Penguins to either buy him out or expose Murray. Fleury chose the option of a team player and he waived it.

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Marc-Andre Fleury will be remembered by the Penguins and their fans for being a champion. Both on and off the ice. His future is uncertain, but he’ll always be a hero in Pittsburgh.