Fleury still has fond memories of his time in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — To date, there are no statues in Toshiba Plaza which adjoins T-Mobile Arena.

But at some point, you can expect the Vegas Golden Knights to honor a select few that have brought pride and success to the organization. Most likely, the first statue to be erected will be of Marc-Andre Fleury.

No player numbers have yet to be retired either. But rest assured when the time comes to do so, Fleury’s No. 29 will likely be hoisted to the rafters.

The beloved goaltender, an original Golden Misfit in 2017-18 who led the Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, will be headed to Toronto someday for enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Perhaps that will be the time for VGK owner Bill Foley to commission a fitting tribute to the man known to everyone as ”Flower.”

Fleury, who also has legendary status among fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins for helping win two Stanley Cups, doesn’t have a statue there either. Then again, perhaps Fleury will join Mario Lemieux who is so honored outside PPG Paints Arena when he is through tending the crease.

That will likely be at this season’s end. Fleury, who is currently with the Minnesota Wild, still has some work left in that 40-year-old body of his. He has appeared in 14 games, started 12 and is 9-3 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage following Saturday’s 36-save performance in Minnesota’s 3-1 win over San Jose. Those are respectable numbers for any NHL netminder, let alone a backup who has helped the Wild stay in the chase for the Central Division title.

Fleury still loves to play. He still enjoys pulling pranks on teammates, both current and former. He still has that joie de vie when it comes to performing and while he understands that he will have to leave the ice for good at some point, it appears he’s doing it on his terms.

Sunday, he made his final regular-season appearance at T-Mobile Arena as the Wild met the Knights in a big mid-January game for both teams. However, he was a spectator, sitting behind the Minnesota bench near the tunnel to the Wild’s dressing room as coach John Hynes elected to start Filip Gustavsson against Vegas in the second of back-to-back games for Minnesota.

But the Golden Knights, who were without leading scorer Jack Eichel ,who was out with an illness and were also on a back-to-back, rediscovered their scoring touch and snapped their two-game losing streak with a come-from-behind 4-1 win over the Wild, which was without its star scorer, Kirill Kaprizov.

“Weird. Special. I felt like I’ve gone through a lot in those four years,” Fleury said Sunday prior to puck drop. “To start from scratch with the team. Going to the Final the first year. The journey of getting to the Final. I’ll always have lots of good memories from my time here.”

The aftermath of the Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting which left 58 people dead and hundreds wounded just days before the Knights launched their inaugural season still remains fresh in Fleury’s mind.

“The first game here was special. It was sad but it was good to see the people in the building and everyone sticking together through those tough times,” he said. ”It was a crazy time.”  

He is going to leave the game as hockey’s second winningest goaltender. He won’t catch Martin Brodeur, the leader who had 691 victories. But Fleury, who passed Patrick Roy last year to move into second place and currently has 570 wins, has secured his spot in the pantheon of great goalies.

When they put together the highlight reel of Fleury’s accomplishments, it’s going to be a long one. The windmill glove saves. The dives across the crease. The poke checks with the stick. So many great stops over the years.

And he has been a great teammate. At each of his stops — Pittsburgh, Vegas, Chicago and now Minnesota — those who played with him cherished their time they were his comrade, which may be the most fitting tribute of all. Hockey is and will always be a team game and no matter how great an individual is, he can’t excel without help from those he shares the room with.

“We don’t see each other very much but a few texts now and then,” he said of staying in touch with his former Golden Knights teammates. “There aren’t many of them left here.”

Defenseman Jon Merrill, who has been a teammate of Fleury’s with the Golden Knights and currently with the Wild, said Fleury is a special person.

“I think he’s a good person all-around,” Merrill said. “It’s hard to find anything bad to say about him. He’s just a stand-up guy. He does things the right way. He’s a true professional.

“He wears his heart on his sleeve. He battles every night on the ice. He’s there for you. He’s just a great guy.”

Fleury was part of the grand experiment to bring major league professional team sports to Las Vegas. He was proud to have a small role and helping set the standard for what has been a highly successful franchise — both on and off the ice.

“Nobody was quite sure what to expect,” he said of the inaugural season. “There were a lot of questions. But Mr. Foley had a good vision. Everyone got behind the team. You’d go to practice and the rink would be full. There was the great run to the Final. It worked out and I’m happy it succeeded.”

Sunday, he was recognized by the Knights on the video scoreboard above center ice during the first period and chants of “Fleury” broke out from the sellout crowd of 17,921. He appreciated the gesture from his former team and the love from the fans, with whom he has always had a special, warm relationship. But as for the idea of a statue at Toshiba Plaza, Fleury said he’s not ready to be cast in bronze.

“It’s a little bit much maybe, I don’t feel I need anything like that,” he said with a laugh. “I have good memories of this place. This team gave me a second chance. I don’t know that I need a statue.”

Merrill said Fleury is deserving of such an honor, along with getting his No. 29 retired. No Golden Knight has worn that number since Fleury was traded to the Blackhawks in 2021.

“I think he obviously laid a lot of the foundation for this organization,” Merrill said. “He was unbelievable on the ice but also prevalent in the community and he was a fan favorite. So it wouldn’t be shocking if they erected a statue in his honor.

“But knowing him, he’s humble. He doesn’t want any of the attention. He doesn’t even think of himself as a superstar, which is funny. But he’s deserving of whatever he gets.”