Due to the state of the franchise during his tenure with the team, Marc-Andre Fleury didn't do much winning with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Fleury played with Chicago for just a tick over half a season. He played 45 games in 2021-22 before being traded to the Minnesota Wild at the deadline. During those games, he went 19-21-5 with a .908 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average. Had they not had Fleury that year, their place in the standings might have been even lower.
The Blackhawks and Wild, along with the Vegas Golden Knights, are the three teams to have Fleury since his departure from the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he became a legendary goalie.
While with Pittsburgh, Fleury was a part of three Stanley Cup championships, and formed an all-time great core with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Chris Kunitz. To be a good team-guy, Fleury waived his no-move clause so the Vegas Golden Knights could select him in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
Since Fleury retired at the end of last season, he hasn't had the chance to have a proper send-off from the Pittsburgh Penguins. On Friday, however, the Penguins announced how they plan to rectify that.
Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) on XWelcome home, Flower. The black and gold missed you 🖤💛
Read more: https://t.co/oZr416yko9Fleury has signed a PTO with the Penguins, and he will play in one pre-season game for them. That will take place in Pittsburgh on September 27th, when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is sure to be a special night for the franchise that selected Fleury first overall in the 2003 NHL Draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks were a very small part of Fleury's journey in the NHL, but everyone in the organization who had a chance to know him and learn from him is better for it. Now, all hockey fans will get to witness a very special moment later this month.
You don't see an honoring like this very often, where they get to actually suit up, which adds to the intrigue. Fleury deserves all of his "flowers".
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