Marc-Andre Fleury

[Pens x]

It’s incredibly strange to see Fleury FINALLY become a very good goalie the Penguins thought he’d be when they drafted him 1st overall 15 years ago. He was so bad for so long on the Penguins. I used to get nervous whenever the opposing team took a shot, regardless of where it was from. Now he seems so reliable and composed. I hope he has a great ending to his career but I can only wonder what the Pens could have done if he hadn’t been a mental midget until 2016.

 

[NORiculous]

At this point, unless he collapses (which we have no signs to believe it will happen), he will take the Smyth no matter who the cup winner is.

 

[torniojaws]

At this point, unless he collapses (which we have no signs to believe it will happen), he will take the Smyth no matter who the cup winner is.

I agree. The remaining teams really don't have such a clear candidate, as even Vasilevskiy, Ovechkin, Kucherov and Stamkos haven't really stood out the way MAF has. Even in VGK, there's no real other candidate (due to their balance/depth, not because they would be bad).

If he does get the Conn Smythe, he is one step closer to the HHoF. A Vezina next season would likely cement him.

 

[Magnus the Duck]

It’s incredibly strange to see Fleury FINALLY become a very good goalie the Penguins thought he’d be when they drafted him 1st overall 15 years ago. He was so bad for so long on the Penguins. I used to get nervous whenever the opposing team took a shot, regardless of where it was from. Now he seems so reliable and composed. I hope he has a great ending to his career but I can only wonder what the Pens could have done if he hadn’t been a mental midget until 2016.

One difference is that with VGK he has a good defense in front of him.

 

[torniojaws]

The whole situation there was just sad. They had a younger goalie and opted to go with him and Fleury always had this rap as inconsistent or easy to score on.

Oh, for a second I thought you were talking about Murray

 

[Old Gregg]

Fluery put up some of the worst playoff performances in NHL history, single handedly losing the Penguins series. I don't know why people still defend him, he went to see a phycologist because of it. He's admitted already that he has problems dealing with pressure.

It wasn't until he got mental health help and a new goaltending coach that he started to turn it around.

Not a new goalie coach...an actual goalie coach. Meloche was not an actual goalie coach and never worked with Fleury on his game. You want to blame someone for the Penguins horrible playoffs between 2010-2013 blame the organization for not developing Fleury properly. Had they actually developed him properly who knows what could have been.

 

[Old Gregg]

It’s incredibly strange to see Fleury FINALLY become a very good goalie the Penguins thought he’d be when they drafted him 1st overall 15 years ago. He was so bad for so long on the Penguins. I used to get nervous whenever the opposing team took a shot, regardless of where it was from. Now he seems so reliable and composed. I hope he has a great ending to his career but I can only wonder what the Pens could have done if he hadn’t been a mental midget until 2016.

The Penguins could have given him a goalie coach when they drafted him instead of waiting 10+yrs that could've made a huge difference.

 

[Pens1566]

2010-2013*

And one of those years was without both Sid and Geno. Another was lost because we scored 2 goals the entire series and got swept.

 

[Icarium]

And one of those years was without both Sid and Geno. Another was lost because we scored 2 goals the entire series and got swept.

Without Vokoun stepping up to clean MAF's mess we wouldn't have gotten past the first round in 2013, I love the guy but he was absolutely terrible in the 2012 and 2013 playoffs.

 

[The Macho King]

Without Vokoun stepping up to clean MAF's mess we wouldn't have gotten past the first round in 2013, I love the guy but he was absolutely terrible in the 2012 and 2013 playoffs.

Malazan's the shit bro.

 

[66871]

And one of those years was without both Sid and Geno. Another was lost because we scored 2 goals the entire series and got swept.

Yeah, Fleury was not a good playoff goalie 2010-2013. Particularly 2011-2013. IIRC we were knocked out by the Habs in 2010 and while he gave up some howlers, the whole team played poorly. Results went downhill from there until Fleury was on the bench against the Bruins.

That said, many goalies have down years. Fleury's failures were magnified due to the talent around him. I'm very happy for him that he was able to turn the page. The move to Vegas seems to have been just what he needed.

 

[george14]

At this point, unless he collapses (which we have no signs to believe it will happen), he will take the Smyth no matter who the cup winner is.

There is a 0% chance Fleury wins the Conn Smythe if a big name on either TB or WSH gets hot in the finals. Kuzy leads in points, Ovi is right behind him. Kuch and Stamkos are high enough in points to where they can lead the playoffs if TB wins.

I agree, Fleury is the only choice to win right now. There is not a close second. It's happened 5 times in 50+ years. The only way I see him getting it in a loss is if he continues his dominance or TB/WSH has a bunch of role players score goals and the big guys don't get on the stat sheet that much.

Rooting for him though.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I can't wait to see the bitter posts about 2010-2013 during MAF Hall Of Fame induction.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

At 34 how many more good years do people think he can give Vegas?

He's 33. Could be very solid for another 4-5 years i'd say.

 

[The Roy Of Ottawa]

 

[Newsworthy]

Can we get some appreciation for this guy? He has been one of the most polarizing players in the NHL in recent memory for a variety of reasons (1st overall in a stacked draft with huge expectations, World Juniors mishap, natural anti-Penguins bias, then being turned on by his own fans for playoff woes, etc etc) .

But I think at this point we can just watch and appreciate the goaltender he has developed into. What most people don't realise is that while he was the scapegoat for the Penguins teams from 2010-2014, it was almost always the team defense's fault rather than his but he was an easy whipping boy.

The Bylsma-led Penguins played absolutely putrid, undisciplined hockey and they hung MAF out to dry over and over. Under Michel Therrien he put up great numbers, under Sullivan he did well, and now under Galalnt he is playing like a star.

The bonus here is that he is a genuinely good guy. That move from Pittsburgh could have turned ugly with his no-trade clause but he was classy the whole way and it's paying off for him now.

To say his defense let him down in PIttsburgh from 2010-2014 is disingenuous.
He was terribad against the Islanders and it wasn't his defense. I'm sure others can point out his other bad series but to me that was very notable. He was also benched for Murray even though that's after the fact.
And why are we talking about his play after 2014 and before this year?
To me he has finally found his game career wise. Before this year he was very inconsistent.

 

[optimus2861]

He's 33. Could be very solid for another 4-5 years i'd say.

Goalies going past this age very rarely put up these kind of numbers. 4 years from now he's likely retired or just barely clinging to an NHL job. Age is a bitch that way.

This is, in all likelihood, Fleury's last best season. He may still be good for a couple more years, but he'll be on the decline.