LAS VEGAS — The past, present and future for Marc-Andre Fleury converged late Wednesday night at a place that serves $4 hot dogs for happy hour and 24-ounce cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
After the expansion draft, when the Vegas Golden Knights claimed Fleury from the Penguins, Fleury and his wife, Veronique, dined at Beerhaus — adjacent to T-Mobile Arena — with a few of his new teammates and one of his old ones, Sidney Crosby.
The conversation wasn’t anything terribly serious, but in the coming weeks it could be. Fleury is the face of the Vegas Golden Knights, whether he likes it or not, the same role Crosby has played for years in Pittsburgh.
Those three teammates — Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb and Jason Garrison — will inevitably look at Fleury the way those in Pittsburgh view Crosby.
“It’s a little weird,” Fleury said Thursday morning inside The Armory, the team’s official merchandise shop. “I’ve always had Sid to step behind. It’s obviously a little different. I think I’m up for the challenge. This is a good organization, a good team. I’m looking forward to see what we can do.”
This isn’t an easy thing for Fleury. Fading into the background behind Crosby, Malkin and other prominent Penguins was never a problem, but that’s not going to be possible here.
Everywhere Fleury goes, he draws a crowd. One that tossed questions at him for a half-hour Thursday morning and would do the same later in the day, as Fleury held his first youth clinic, a street hockey event less than 24 hours after he became part of the organization.
“With Sid and Geno in Pittsburgh, Fleury wasn’t as much of a focal point, but he still was a huge part of that organization, a big face there,” said Engelland, a former Penguins teammate of Fleury. “For him to come here, for him to be that guy, it’s great. He’s a guy you want to have for that.
“He’s a great leader, a great guy on and off the ice. He’s fun to be around every day. He never has a bad day, it seems. He’s always happy. I’m excited to play with him.”
Fleury said he may pick Crosby’s brain to learn how he has carried himself so impeccably, the daily dealings with media, the constant attention and the pressure to perform.
But this is also hard for Fleury because it’s against his DNA to elevate himself over the team.
“He handles himself so well on and off the ice,” Fleury said of Crosby. “I’m not looking for this. I don’t want to talk about this. I just want to contribute, do my job, stop the puck and win some games. I think that’s what’s important.”
That Crosby caught a late dinner with Fleury should not come as a surprise. While everyone waited for Fleury to enter the interview room on Wednesday, Crosby stood and waited to say hello to his friend, arms crossed in front.
The conversation was short — Fleury said they made plans to talk later when cameras weren’t around— but it was symbolic; in Pittsburgh it’s always been Crosby the assembled crowd was eagerly anticipating.
Fleury said “a lot” of people from Pittsburgh reached out after the pick was announced, but he didn’t want to say who exactly. He also joked that, once he and Veronique find a house, it might get crowded with friends and family in town to visit.
“I’ll have to look for a house that has a lot of bedrooms,” Fleury said.
Fleury also doesn’t think that his friends and family will be embarrassed to see him play. While many expansion teams stink, Vegas looks like it should at least be competitive in 2017-18.
As the player on the team with the most experience, especially in high-leverage situations, Fleury is looking forward to maximizing the number of wins the Golden Knights can accumulate.
“We’ll give it all we got, give a good show and win some games for the people here,” Fleury said.
That first show came Wednesday, when fans at T-Mobile broke into singsong chants of Fleury’s name. The goaltender didn’t expect that. But it meant a lot, so much that it had Fleury still smiling the next day.
“There’s a lot of unknown for me, changing teams,” Fleury said. “It was comforting to know that people are looking forward to this team and are already very supportive.”
Engelland and Fleury have stayed in touch since Engelland left Pittsburgh. Their wives, too. Engelland has already offered whatever Fleury might need to get acclimated to a new city.
In return, the Golden Knights are getting someone who has absolutely been there before.
“His personality and leadership on and off the ice, he’s always happy; never a bad day for that guy,” Engelland said. “He brings a lot of energy. He brings fun to the game, to be at the rink every day and being around the guys. He’s going to be a great leader.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 22, 2017, 8:44 p.m.
