I stopped Trevor Daley Sunday as he limped out of Consol Energy Center on crutches and told him how I sorry I was for him.
He had played a leading role in the Penguins’ successful run to the Stanley Cup final, but his season ended in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning when his left ankle was broken. He won’t play in the Cup final, which starts tonight when the Penguins try to take a bite out of the San Jose Sharks.
“It [stinks],” Daley said, “but what are you going to do?”
I told Daley I also felt bad for Marc-Andre Fleury, who isn’t likely to play against the Sharks for a much different reason. Fleury, who led the Penguins to a Cup win in 2009 and has been their regular goalie for 12 seasons, has been passed by rookie Matt Murray as the team’s No. 1 netminder. There’s a chance Fleury has played his final game for the franchise that traded up to draft him No. 1 overall in 2003, more than 400 regular-season and playoff wins ago.
“He’s an incredible teammate,” Daley said of Fleury. “Because he’s such a good dude, good things are going to happen for him. I like to believe good things happen to good people.”
I believe the same thing.
If it’s true, Fleury will be the starting goaltender again for a Cup-winning team and will finish the journey he has started to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
I have never met a better person in Pittsburgh sports.
“I’ve tried to model myself after him,” Penguins third goalie Jeff Zatkoff said. “He’s everything you want to be.”
Everyone with the Penguins organization — from general manager Jim Rutherford to coach Mike Sullivan to the players — has praised Fleury for the way he has handled, in Sullivan’s words, “an imperfect situation.” Fleury was the team’s best player all season and was given his teammates’ greatest honor when they voted him their Players’ Player award for the second consecutive year.
But Fleury’s season turned March 31 in a game against Nashville. I talked to him at length that night after the Penguins’ 5-2 win, which gave him 35 wins for the seventh time in his NHL career, a feat exceeded only by the iconic Martin Brodeur. I talked to him about a new television commercial for Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC, featuring him, his wife, Veronique, and their young daughters, Estelle and Scarlett. Fleury was fine after that game, smiling as always. But he didn’t feel right the next day and was quickly diagnosed with his second concussion of the season. He wasn’t cleared to play again until Game 3 of the second-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals.
“He was really dealt a tough hand,” Zatkoff said.
By the time Fleury was ready, Murray had established himself as one of the NHL postseason’s best stories, not to mention one of its best players. It wasn’t until Murray faltered just a bit, allowing four goals in the first two periods of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the Lightning, that Fleury got to play. Sullivan put him in for the third period and, after Fleury stopped all seven shots he faced, started him in Game 5.
But Fleury wasn’t sharp after missing so much time and appeared to get worse as the game went on. He allowed four goals on 25 shots and the Penguins lost, 4-3, in overtime when a shot by Jason Garrison hit off Tyler Johnson’s back and went into the net.
I’ve never seen Fleury so down after a game. The big reason, of course, was the loss, which left the Penguins in a tough 3-2 hole. “I really wanted to play well for the team,” he said.
But Fleury had to wonder if he had blown his opportunity to take back his net. Murray started Games 6 and 7, stopping 44 of 47 shots in 5-2 and 2-1 wins. Fleury also had to wonder if he had just played his final game at Consol Energy Center. He is 31 and has a contract for three more seasons with an annual cap hit of $5.75 million. Murray is signed for next season with a cap hit of $620,000, after which he can become a restricted free agent. It won’t be the least bit surprising if the Penguins decide to stick with their younger, cheaper goaltender, especially if they win the Cup in the next two weeks.
I asked Fleury Sunday if he has thought about his career possibly being finished here.
“Not yet. It’s not time,” he said. “It’s time to chase the Cup and win it. That’s all that matters …
“To me, it’s about the team. It’s not about me. It’s not about who plays. I can’t be selfish about it. It’s important that we win. I’ve been playing here a long time. I really love the city. I would love for them to have another championship here.
“It’s a lot bigger than me. I’ll be the best I can be to help the team and help Matty. And, if called upon, I’ll be ready to play.”
Fleury’s teammates appreciate the way he supports Murray and doesn’t try to big-time him.
“That makes all the difference,” Zatkoff said. “I think it allows Matt to feel comfortable. It doesn’t create that animosity in the locker room or any of those awkward situations.”
Defenseman Ben Lovejoy said Fleury is Murray’s “No. 1 cheerleader” and marveled at his attitude.
“As a competitor, as an elite goalie in this league, it can’t be easy for him, but you would never know it. He is the ultimate pro.”
Fleury said he will continue to practice hard, should the team need him against the Sharks. “But you never wish for your team to have to make changes. It’s a better sign if we don’t have a goalie change because that means we’re winning.”
Fleury will be thrilled for his teammates if the Penguins win the Cup, especially the four — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz — who were on the ice with him for Game 7 of the final against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009 when he stopped Nicklas Lidstrom’s point-blank shot right before the final horn to save the team’s 2-1 win.
Fleury will be happy for the fans who have supported him through the many ups and few downs of his career. He will take great joy for the city that has become his home.
And after that?
Can you blame Fleury if doesn’t want to think about the possibility of being traded? It will be an incredibly sad day when his time with the Penguins ends.
Not just for Fleury and his teammates. For all of Pittsburgh.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Poni” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
First Published: May 30, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
