aufheben
#Norris4Fox
He's been an excellent goalie for the past 4 seasons, so you have a lot of games to choose from.
Marc-Andre Fleury
- Thread starter sanitysrequiem
- Start date
The interesting thing about goalies is that unlike players, they can actually get better in their mid 30s.
Fleury could be a prime example of just that as early on in his career, you could almost say that his speed hurt him as he was over active in the net and just looked "jittery," so maybe getting older and slightly "slowing down" is actually better for someone with his speed.
Fleury could be a prime example of just that as early on in his career, you could almost say that his speed hurt him as he was over active in the net and just looked "jittery," so maybe getting older and slightly "slowing down" is actually better for someone with his speed.
JimmyTwoTimes
Registered User
- Apr 13, 2010
- 19,958
- 5,281
Love how people say hes not a HOF goalie, not realizing he has plenty of hockey left in front of him. Lets wait and see what he does the next 5 years. If he keeps this up he can definitely get in.
The Osgood comparisons are ridiculous. MAF was taken 1st overall. Always had the skill. Just couldnt cut it mentally for 3-4 years on Pitt. Now that hes older and got that monkey off his back last year(playoff success) hes back to being an elite goalie. That we started to see in 08 and 09 .
The Osgood comparisons are ridiculous. MAF was taken 1st overall. Always had the skill. Just couldnt cut it mentally for 3-4 years on Pitt. Now that hes older and got that monkey off his back last year(playoff success) hes back to being an elite goalie. That we started to see in 08 and 09 .
Hank Plank
Registered User
Gary Bets Man
"All bets are off."
- Feb 4, 2015
- 153
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The only ex-penguin on the Knights I actually like. Glad he's getting some love over there and doing well.
Refuse
Sin City Soldiers
- Aug 23, 2005
- 2,421
- 1,070
Confession time: I actually cringed a bit with all the MAF talk during the off-season, remembering the shaky playoff series he had as a Pen, but it looks like a good goalie coach and being depended upon more than in the past has him reborn. In Pittsburgh, he was supposed to keep numbers down while Crosby and Malkin tore up the other team. In Vegas he is the difference maker and he has looked dialed in all season. Would be a Vezina candidate if he had been injury free.
BigEezyE22
Continuing to not support HF.
It all comes down to how the Penguins managed his development. Basically did everything wrong from his rookie season to 2014.
So the proper way to develop him all along was to have a 20 year old kid come in and steal his job?
Pens x
Registered User
- Oct 8, 2016
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I’m happy that Fleury has become a solid playoff goalie, but I am a little annoyed this only happened relatively recently. He single handedly cost the Pens several playoff series in the early 2010’s.
Dumb Pens’ fans dismissed this because he smiles and is a jokester.
Nonetheless, I wish him continued success but I can’t just forget some of absolutely pathetic playoff runs. The Penguins, until 2016, usually had to win despite him, not because of him.
Dumb Pens’ fans dismissed this because he smiles and is a jokester.
Nonetheless, I wish him continued success but I can’t just forget some of absolutely pathetic playoff runs. The Penguins, until 2016, usually had to win despite him, not because of him.
BigEezyE22
Continuing to not support HF.
radapex
Registered User
At the end of the day, there has been a tremendously marked improvement in his play - especially in the playoffs - since he started seeing his sports psychologist over the summer of 2013.
Playoff splits?
2003-2013 - 45-34, 2.73 GAA, .903 SV%, 6 SO
2014-now - 14-11, 2.15 GAA, .931 SV%, 4 SO
I know the latter is a about 1/3 the sample size, but the difference is numbers is astounding.
Cursed Lemon
Registered Bruiser
BigEezyE22
Continuing to not support HF.
Not just a shrink but a better goalie coach as well. It's not just head coaches / systems, but Mike Bales did so much better settling in Fleury than Meloche did.
Maturity, confidence, among other things.
I always said he was a solid goalie, he might not be as spectacular as some but he wins.
Old Gregg
I'm Old Gregg!!
- Apr 13, 2010
- 2,406
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The bolded is just false. He was the #1 overall selection whom the Penguins didn't even develop correctly. They never hired an actual goalie coach until Bales in 2013 or 2014. Meloche was a friend of Mario's who would tell him it was just bad puck luck etc and not actually work on his game. They started him with the big club and then they sent him back to the minors because they couldn't afford his bonuses. It was probably one of the worst ways you could actually develop a goalie. It's hilarious that you actually think the Penguins did everything they could to help him reach his potential
It’s weird to me he gets hated on as much as he does. Never heard anyone say anything bad about him personality wise and now he’s doing great after agreeing to go to an expansion team. I cheer for him every time as long as it’s not against Anaheim
BigEezyE22
Continuing to not support HF.
He seems like a really nice guy, getting out of Pittsburgh helps too.
It was easy to laugh at him because his play cost Pittsburgh a couple of good playoff runs.
I put a lot of emphasis on the players on ice results being largely due to the player,and the player only. Sometimes success or failure comes from within, not from outside sources.
Fleury was a scapegoat for Pittsburgh, he’s always been a good goaltender. The problems for the early 2010’s Penguins did not revolve around him. They were a horribly coached and managed team. Now, he did get rattled, but it wasn’t out of nowhere. The Penguins played horrible in front of him. It’s no coincidence that no goalie played well in the Philly series and the Islanders series (apart fromVokoun but he played a total of 2 games against the Islanders, one of which the team tightened up in front of him and played shutdown (much like they did in game 1 when Fleury recorded a shutout).
That’s not to say Fleury doesn’t deserve some criticism for those runs, but he wasn’t the main cause as many Fans want to paint him as. He lost confidence in his team and started second guessing himself and started trying to do too much. But I’m confident that if the Penguins weren’t playing like complete morons in front of him he would have been fine, and even great.
That’s not to say Fleury doesn’t deserve some criticism for those runs, but he wasn’t the main cause as many Fans want to paint him as. He lost confidence in his team and started second guessing himself and started trying to do too much. But I’m confident that if the Penguins weren’t playing like complete morons in front of him he would have been fine, and even great.
dr robbie
Let's Go Pens!
BigEezyE22
Continuing to not support HF.
No chance the Penguins organization learned from mistakes and did a better job setting Murray up for success, too, right?
ImporterExporter
"You're a boring old man"
Yeah, you mean like games 6 and 7 of the Cup finals in 2009?
Or how about last year, on the road, game 7 against Washington where he posted a shutout?
Since 2013 he's .927/2.24 in the playoffs. Your hatred of the guy is so evident. And you don't have a leg to stand on in your criticism's for a solid 5 years now.
As a true Pens and hockey fan in general, I'm glad we went with Murray. I watched the kid play live a number of times in Wilkes Barre before he even got to Pittsburgh. He's been even better than I could have imagined and Pitt did the right thing going with him long term. But that doesn't mean I'll forget or shit on a a guy who was literally the 1st piece in a major rebuild that ended up getting the Pens 3 Cups in 4 trips to the finals over the past 13 years. Yeah, I like the dude even more because he's a great person on top of player, and would hope people looked up to a guy like that as a role model for their kids...and hell themselves as adults.
