Marc-Andre Fleury

[66871]

He should be absolutely loved on these boards.

I can think of a few hfboards members who would likely be institutionalized if he had played to his potential and brought a few more cups to Pittsburgh (Looks at Angry Hank).

 

[cassius]

I guess you look at the concept of mean-reversion and it was bound to happen at some point.

He had some downright UGLY years where he singlehandingly sunk entire post-season playoff runs for the Pens.

Glad to see he is doing better, but if I were a LV GK fan I wouldn't get too excited... because Fleury has the potential to crash and burn in epic fashion in a matter of seconds.

I've witnessed these melt downs first hand for the better part of a decade and hope that LV GK fans don't have go through one.

Great guy - just not a "clutch" performer at all.

 

[radapex]

how convenient and what a coincidence the team gets "good and deep enough" when murray becomes the goalie

It's not coincidence at all. It happened because they stopped trying to rely on guys like Craig Adams and Tanner Glass to provide depth and starting giving young guys like Sheary, Rust, Guentzel, Kuhnhackl, etc a chance. That didn't happen until Sullivan took over and pushed for them to give chances to the guys he had in WBS.

well he was after game 5 against tampa in the ECF, i'm convinced sullivan went back the fleury due to all the fans and media members telling him he should

you fleury fan boys almost cost the pens a cup

He flat out said he went to Fleury that game because he felt Murray was tiring. He had played something ridiculous like 40 of his previous 42 games between PIT and WBS.

Maybe this has been said already but goalies have a really tough time getting into the HOF. MAF isn’t even a top 5 goalie from his era. He ain’t getting in.

There are basically two things he can do to help his chances - hit the 500 win plateau, and/or win another cup. Either of those two will get him consideration, both probably gets him in.

So the proper way to develop him all along was to have a 20 year old kid come in and steal his job?

The proper way to develop him was to not throw him into the NHL being a last place team at 18 years old. They rushed him into the NHL because they were desperate for a goalie. I'm a firm believer in goalies being afforded a fee seasons in the AHL to develop before moving up.

 

[SomeDude]

The proper way to develop him was to not throw him into the NHL being a last place team at 18 years old. They rushed him into the NHL because they were desperate for a goalie. I'm a firm believer in goalies being afforded a fee seasons in the AHL to develop before moving up.

Not only rushed him, they put him behind one of the worst rosters in the history of the NHL.

 

[end]

There always was a lot of weird disdain for MAF, and this goes before he was even a Penguin. When he was merely listed as going in the top five or ten, there was a push against him that I thought was really odd. In hindsight, I think people who had the expectation that goalies are too improbable in development to use a top pick on looked at his entire career as a threat to prove them wrong, and thus wanted yet another example of a top goalie pick flaming out. I remember this same aggression being tilted at Luongo and Dipietro.

And then he became a Penguin, and then the 04 WJC game happens and I think a good amount of Canadians just refused to ever forgive him.

 

[93gilmour93]

All this success in Vegas for Fleury is awesome. It wasn't easy for him to leave Pittsburgh but he never once was a problem waiving to go to Vegas. A true pro and this great ride couldn't happen to a better guy.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Fleury has been through the good and bad in the NHL. I'm glad he's got his #1 role and flourishing in it. Unfortunate concussion moved the process along a little faster than it should have and cost Fleury his starting job. All they had to do was get through that expansion draft with Murray still in the minors and they were not losing him for free.

Keep it rollin' MAF.

 

[snowkiddin]

Fleury has played very well in Vegas. Fleury overall was average in Pittsburgh. Talent was there but he lacked composure too many times.

Pretty much this.

 

[ImporterExporter]

I guess you look at the concept of mean-reversion and it was bound to happen at some point.

He had some downright UGLY years where he singlehandingly sunk entire post-season playoff runs for the Pens.

Glad to see he is doing better, but if I were a LV GK fan I wouldn't get too excited... because Fleury has the potential to crash and burn in epic fashion in a matter of seconds.

I've witnessed these melt downs first hand for the better part of a decade and hope that LV GK fans don't have go through one.

Great guy - just not a "clutch" performer at all.

I'll keep exposing you guys every chance I get. It's nonsense and completely false to say the bolded. And it shows a clear bias and lack of respect for a guy that came to the rink with a smile on his face no matter what and had a major hand in 2 of our 3 Cups. I said I wouldn't name names and I haven't had to. You folks show up, even now, when he's enjoying an MVP caliber run.

He was Conn Smythe worthy in 2008 even though the Pens lost in the finals. You can strongly argue he was the best player that year on the Pens playoff ride.

He was fantastic in games 6 and 7 (on the road) in 2009 vs Detroit. Not clutch? Yeah, getting across the crease with 1 second left to stone one of the greatest defensemen ever to play the game, and seal a Cup win, isn't clutch?

Him coming in relatively cold last year when Murray went down in warmups (game 1 of the 1st round) and playing great in net, capped off by shutting out Washington, on the road, in game 7.....isn't clutch?

Isn't it pretty clear the burden of blame for the Pens failures is on Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero from 2010-2013. Because Fleury was and has largely been very good pre and post Bylsma/Shero. And it's obviously continued with Vegas.

Some people just hate players on a level that borders on obsession.

 

[Icarium]

Isn't it pretty clear the burden of blame for the Pens failures is on Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero from 2010-2013.

It is. This doesn't exonerate Fleury from his many, many gaffes in that period of time, though. There are plenty of teams with mediocre to terrible coaches where the goaltenders do pretty well, so it's not like this is some impossible feat. Mike Johnson was a terrible coach and yet Fleury was great under him.

I wish Fleury all the best and love nothing better than the Pens to meet him in the finals this year but he is blamed for these playoff failures for a very good reason. Not only did he allow many back-breaking bad goals but his obvious nervousness often affected his defence negatively. It's great that he is past that now but it doesn't make what happened back then any less true.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

So, most of the hockey except generally everyone on here who isn't you?

And yes, you're correct, there was very little pressure in Game 7 vs. Washington last year.

most of the hockey world that can remember things that happened before last year, yes

the rest of you want to pretend he doesn't have a bad playoff reputation

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

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

the number 1 overall pick shouldn't need all that hand holding, yet they still held his hand and gave him every chance in the world

his mistakes were all mental, he was his own worst enemy

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

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 **** 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.

he sucked in the other losses to the red wings, but yeah he was great in game 6 and 7, his overall playoff numbers that year don't lie

your love for him is evident, and yeah i do have a leg to stand on as the pens won 2 cups when he sat his ass on the bench

stating the truth about him is not shitting on him, you thinking this is just more proof of your love for him and fleury fanboys just can't take criticism of their nice guy hero

yes he's fan friendly, most hockey players are lets not hold him on a pedestal like he cured cancer

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

I'll keep exposing you guys every chance I get. It's nonsense and completely false to say the bolded. And it shows a clear bias and lack of respect for a guy that came to the rink with a smile on his face no matter what and had a major hand in 2 of our 3 Cups. I said I wouldn't name names and I haven't had to. You folks show up, even now, when he's enjoying an MVP caliber run.

He was Conn Smythe worthy in 2008 even though the Pens lost in the finals. You can strongly argue he was the best player that year on the Pens playoff ride.

He was fantastic in games 6 and 7 (on the road) in 2009 vs Detroit. Not clutch? Yeah, getting across the crease with 1 second left to stone one of the greatest defensemen ever to play the game, and seal a Cup win, isn't clutch?

Him coming in relatively cold last year when Murray went down in warmups (game 1 of the 1st round) and playing great in net, capped off by shutting out Washington, on the road, in game 7.....isn't clutch?

Isn't it pretty clear the burden of blame for the Pens failures is on Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero from 2010-2013. Because Fleury was and has largely been very good pre and post Bylsma/Shero. And it's obviously continued with Vegas.

Some people just hate players on a level that borders on obsession.

get over it dude, fleury doesn't care about you anywhere near as much as your care about him

he was nowhere near conn smythe worthy in 08, now you are trying to rewrite history, nobody was talking about him like they were rinne before the finals last year

you talk about obsession, yours is downright creepy

 

[Old Gregg]

the number 1 overall pick shouldn't need all that hand holding, yet they still held his hand and gave him every chance in the world

his mistakes were all mental, he was his own worst enemy

The #1 overall pick shouldn't need a legit goalie coach? Are you serious?

 

[Riptide]

Not only rushed him, they put him behind one of the worst rosters in the history of the NHL.

And then gave him a former scout to be his "goalie" coach. It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that once Pittsburgh (far too late) went and finally got a real goalie coach (Bales) that he started to do significantly better.

 

[GeorgesLaRAWK]

Fleury is the best, and I miss him.

Earlier this season my elderly mother (who watches the Pens but doesn't really understand the ins and outs of hockey) got really excited that Fleury was a Penguin again. I regretted to inform her that Vegas was visiting and he would be playing for them. It was adorable.

 

[BelovedIsles]

As a neutral fan, for those saying Fleury isn't clutch or a good post-season goalie. I distinctly remember him making spectacular saves against the Red Wings to secure a Cup. When he's locked in he's one of the best IMHO. When he's not, well he'll give up some of the softest (even oddest) goals. Though I suspect those days are behind him.

 

[Refuse]

get over it dude, fleury doesn't care about you anywhere near as much as your care about him

he was nowhere near conn smythe worthy in 08, now you are trying to rewrite history, nobody was talking about him like they were rinne before the finals last year

you talk about obsession, yours is downright creepy

Your custom title is downright hypocrisy

 

[allevat]

you talk about obsession, yours is downright creepy

There's only one person who has looked obsessed in this thread, and it ain't the person you replied to.

 

[Daisy Ridley]

most of the hockey world that can remember things that happened before last year, yes

the rest of you want to pretend he doesn't have a bad playoff reputation

the number 1 overall pick shouldn't need all that hand holding, yet they still held his hand and gave him every chance in the world

his mistakes were all mental, he was his own worst enemy

he sucked in the other losses to the red wings, but yeah he was great in game 6 and 7, his overall playoff numbers that year don't lie

your love for him is evident, and yeah i do have a leg to stand on as the pens won 2 cups when he sat his ass on the bench

stating the truth about him is not ****ting on him, you thinking this is just more proof of your love for him and fleury fanboys just can't take criticism of their nice guy hero

yes he's fan friendly, most hockey players are lets not hold him on a pedestal like he cured cancer

get over it dude, fleury doesn't care about you anywhere near as much as your care about him

he was nowhere near conn smythe worthy in 08, now you are trying to rewrite history, nobody was talking about him like they were rinne before the finals last year

you talk about obsession, yours is downright creepy

obsessed

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

There's only one person who has looked obsessed in this thread, and it ain't the person you replied to.

i'm being attacked by all of fleury's fanboys, so i'm defending myself

he was the weak link for many years, get over it

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

obsessed

with telling you guys the truth about him, yes i am

so sick of the lies being told about mr. nice guy

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

Your custom title is downright hypocrisy

how so? the past sucked with him as our goalie, it's better now

 

[BigEezyE22]

the number 1 overall pick shouldn't need all that hand holding, yet they still held his hand and gave him every chance in the world

his mistakes were all mental, he was his own worst enemy

They held his hand, huh?

Held it in 2003 during that entire shit show?

Held it by signing a bonus-heavy ELC then making sure he couldn't earn any bonuses?

Held it by waiting 10 years before bringing in a legit goalie coach who looked at things other than "puck luck?"