Marc-Andre Fleury Appreciation Thread (Selected by Vegas in exchange for 2020 2nd)

[TheSniper26]

I suppose you can lump me in with those that just aren't that affected by this. I mean Fleury seems like a nice guy, and I wish him well, but the league is littered with nice guys. I have to admit, I do find the emotional outpouring over Fleury/resistance to Murray from certain portions of this fan base to be very odd to say the least. But hey, people can do as they please I suppose.

I've also resigned myself to the fact that I had better settle in for several years of certain posters(and one in particular) suddenly becoming very harsh goaltending critics now that Fleury is gone. Goodbye "defense can't clear a ****ign puck" posts, hello "glove hand again" posts.

 

[vikingGoalie]

It's 2017.

i did think of that. but that's stupid, imo...

 

[Ozz]

i did think of that. but that's stupid, imo...

To be fair, that's typical in a draft and they wanted to treat this occasion as such. For MAF it would have been nice to let him have his number, but

 

[UnrealMachine]

why does he decide to play well now, when the cup window is closed? {04-24-2015 | 10:31 PM}

Please re-quote the above when the time is right to close this thread. It's perfect. I think I'll miss these threads more than Fleury. Actually, I'm sure that I will.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I'll probably catch some flack for this, but honestly I'm glad that Fleury is gone. I was never a big fan of his to begin with, and for the last 5-7 years I've pretty much wanted rid of him. [MOD]

Really, 2017 has been a hundred days of Hockey Christmas for me.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

I honestly won't miss Fleury at all. I will remember him fondly and wish him the best, but I was never emotionally attached to him like most of the city. If this were Geno being selected, I'd be an emotional wreck (as far as hockey fandom goes).

All of this.

 

[Old Gregg]

In a MAF appreciation thread...i'm just curious why so many are bothered by fans being sad and even over the top about his departure... Who cares...why does it bother you all so much that people liked him? It sounds just like why people hate Crosby...because some of his fans are over the top and tear their favourite player/team down in the process.

Instead of talking about his annoying fans, why not post about your fave MAF moment or post a highlight video. He was here for 14yrs...he helped get this team 3 cups. He was an absolute monster in these past playoffs and allowed you all to watch the caps get eliminated after everyone told us we couldn't. He was the only reason we got to play Ottawa. I'm going to miss the guy. Best of luck in LV, MAF!

 

[Jacob]

Okay.. My favorite MAF moment was seeing him putting on the Knights jersey.

 

[molon labe]

Okay.. My favorite MAF moment was seeing him putting on the Knights jersey.

As for highlight vids and stuff - they're certainly all over Twitter. It's the day-after and hard for some people to get stuff like that posted, but the Pens media team did a DECENT job putting one together for last night. Personally I thought they could do much better but whatever. Sad when most of his playoff highlights on that video were from this season...

 

[Shady Machine]

I don't disagree that there are over the top opinions, as there are on everything. The specific post I was initially responding to wasn't about extremely over the top reactions though, it was about reactions that seem to be pretty common right now and basically amounted to "get over it, you're embarrassing me."

Oh sorry I missed the context. Being sad is totally reasonable. He was a big part of this franchise for 14 years.

 

[Shady Machine]

Please post Fleury highlight videos then instead of complaining that there aren't any. I can't link the videos at work or else I would.

 

[WickedWrister]

Why did we have to give up a 2nd? Vegas is already taking the best player in the draft, and it was the worst kept secret in hockey that he was going there...

How is that seriously considerations for not taking Cole or Rust?

 

[Old Gregg]

His series against the Capitals was amazing....so many huge saves in that series alone

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Why did we have to give up a 2nd? Vegas is already taking the best player in the draft, and it was the worst kept secret in hockey that he was going there...

How is that seriously considerations for not taking Cole or Rust?

The deal was probably made in February, when Fleury still looked like crap.

 

[BHD]

Mod note: we'll be watching the thread carefully. There's a difference between sharing a take (positive AND negative) and simply getting others worked up. We won't tolerate trolling. Expect an infraction if you do. Let's make sure this thread serves its purpose.

Thanks.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Please re-quote the above when the time is right to close this thread. It's perfect. I think I'll miss these threads more than Fleury. Actually, I'm sure that I will.

Man that quote is still hilarious.

Poor TTEOT, he screwed up his sock-puppet login once and never lived it down. Life comes at you fast.

 

[HandshakeLine]

On a side note, I've mentioned this in the media thread, but I think a large part of the Fleury die hards are really a by-product of having a bad team in the early 2000s and the way that Pittsburgh sports are marketed. There's too many human interest stories, not enough strategy discussion or nitty-gritty old school reporting going on, and during the dark years, that stuff was an easier sell than trying to explain why the Pens constructed a losing team or why the team couldn't manage a breakout to save its life.

You create a ton of media personalities like Fleury and you draw in a bunch of fans who don't actually care about the game, they care about the player they get emotionally invested in beyond the game (or in spite of the game in many cases). Add into the fact that most sports journalists are not actually journalists anymore and there's not a whole lot independent coverage that isn't media conglomerate driven or team-dictated, and you get a lot more weird Fleury fans than you get people talking about defensive strategies in the city.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Man that quote is still hilarious.

Poor TTEOT, he screwed up his sock-puppet login once and never lived it down. Life comes at you fast.

Great quote.

Side note: clear out your PMs.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Great quote.

Side note: clear out your PMs.

Oh word, sorry. I always forget about that.

 

[WickedWrister]

The deal was probably made in February, when Fleury still looked like crap.

I'm sorry but that's just not good enough from Rutherford A 2nd round pick is too much for "peace of mind".

 

[Ogrezilla]

the deal is solid. It let us keep Fleury for the playoffs instead of forcing a trade before the deadline.

 

[spcastlemagic]

I have a very specific thing that jags me about Fleury leaving.

The first time he comes back, he will get a huge standing ovation. He will deserve it. It will be good.

The first save he makes, people will give him an ironic "FLEURY, FLEURY" chant, and it will be funny.

The next save he makes, some jags, the same jags that are trying to convince you somehow that two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray is a bad goalie, will keep doing that now "ironic" Fleury chant. And it will enrage me.

 

[Mordax]

"do you not like stanley cups gayle?"

HAHA just finished the whole thing. 1.I love these segments. 2.My goodness

I'd never heard of those guys before this run. Hilarious. I legitimately lost it on "Watching MAF get traded is like watching your dad get beat up"

I'm glad MAF went out on a high note. I was always a fan (although it was tough for a few years there...), but Murray is clearly the future of this team.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I'm sorry but that's just not good enough from Rutherford A 2nd round pick is too much for "peace of mind".

I think a 2nd rounder 4 years from now to ensure a struggling goalie making 5.75 mil per comes off the books when you need it and you don't lose a Rust or Maatta in the expansion draft is more than worth the price.

MAF did not look like a man on the verge of a turnaround in February.

 

[shureshot66]

I think a 2nd rounder 4 years from now to ensure a struggling goalie making 5.75 mil per comes off the books when you need it and you don't lose a Rust or Maatta in the expansion draft is more than worth the price.

MAF did not look like a man on the verge of a turnaround in February.

And the trade market for goalies at the time was not promising at all from a seller's perspective. To say the least.

Honestly, let's all of us remember back a year ago to this same date. All of the uncertainty. Out of all possible outcomes from this goalie dilemma, this has to be in the top one percent with how this played out.