Penguins faithful give Fleury fitting farewell in final game in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — There were 29’s strewn all over every bit of PPG Paints Arena, on posters and t-shirts and hats. On the backs of Pittsburgh Penguins sweaters, where 87’s and 71’s might usually sit. They came in every iteration — 29’s on Pens jerseys new and old, on Team Canada jerseys, All-Star jerseys, Winter Classic jerseys, on Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild jerseys.

On the concourse, a monument of the digits was constructed out of yellow and gold flowers, punctuated with a large rose. A line curled down a hallway as fans waited their turn to take photos with the towering tribute.

Then the man of the hour himself stepped out onto the ice, and the hysteria only grew. The crowd roared as he took his place in the opposing net, again when his face first appeared on the jumbotron. Behind him, signs lined the glass — ‘Merci, Marc-Andre — we love you!’ scrawled on one, ‘Fleury will always be our G.O.A.T.’ on another.

And for a brief moment, out there amid that nostalgic din, for those within the walls of this arena, the Penguins’ 2024-25 campaign was paused. The quest for an early-season win was halted. Instead, the city allowed itself a second to rewind, back to the heyday of an era now in its twilight, back to a time when its stars were young and hungry and dominant. Back to the beginning.

This was the night Marc-Andre Fleury came home, one last time.

If you haven’t seen it first-hand, it might be difficult to fully understand the depth of the love the city of Pittsburgh has for the one affectionately known as ‘Flower.’ Tuesday night offered a glimpse, a reminder that the bond is so enduring that even here — 21 years after Fleury first took the ice in a Penguins sweater, seven years after he did for the last time — the fans who pack into these black-and-gold stands are still chanting his name.

Even a turn as the man standing between the home crowd and a Sidney Crosby goal didn’t quiet the place — the first time the captain registered a chance on net, launching a floater from the neutral zone that bounced off Fleury’s pads, the Penguins faithful roared again. It was a few minutes later that they truly got their moment, though, when the arena staff played a video montage honouring No. 29. The netminder stood behind his net and watched the first minute of it, before skating to the corner and glancing up only briefly.

He could only avert his eyes for so long. By the time the tribute had come to a close, the fans were on their feet, raining down a familiar two-syllable message: “Fleu-ry! Fleu-ry!”

“For guys that have been here for a long time, they know why,” Kris Letang had said a day prior, when asked about the city’s undying appreciation for the teammate he shared the ice with for more than a decade. “It might sound weird, but it’s just normal for us — he made a big difference in this organization. People appreciate that. And they’ll remember that forever.”

The 39-year-old Fleury had stood at a podium himself on Monday afternoon, holding court with a handful of reporters in a small room at the Penguins’ practice facility in Cranberry, Penn., reflecting on the journey that led him here. On the night in 2003, when he skated out under the lights, a skinny teenager clad in bright yellow pads, and first felt the love from the Penguins faithful. On the arrival of Crosby, Letang and Evgeni Malkin soon after, the beginning of a quartet that salvaged a franchise, hung championship banners, and became brothers.

“It’s tough to pick one,” Fleury had said of the memories that stick with him most from that time. “There are so many years, so many moments. And some tough ones, obviously. But the welcome I got here my first game, my first training camp, was unbelievable. Sometimes I had tough times, and I felt like the crowd was there for me, trying to cheer me on, to keep going, keep pushing. … I feel lucky I was part of it. I feel fortunate that I got to live it. To learn the hard way, with all those losses, the hard times.

“We were able to turn it around. Obviously, Sid, Geno, Tanger, Staalsy, Max — so many guys came in and were part of turning the team around. … It meant a lot, going to that Final and winning that one in ’09. Because we started from just being young guys, and losing a lot, to becoming a good team and finding a way to win.”

In truth, for as much as Pittsburgh’s love of No. 29 stemmed from his play on the ice, from his role in helping adorn the Crosby Era with three championship rings, to hear the ones who were there tell it, it was about far more.

“I think it’s just his personality,” Crosby said of the catalyst for Fleury’s bond with the city. “Just the energy that he brings and that he gives, regardless of the situation.”

“I mean, you see it — you see it on the ice, you see it in practice, you see it in the room. That’s Marc-Andre,” added Letang. “There’s no guy outside and guy at the rink — it’s all the same. Always having fun, always a great attitude. … Especially when he came in as an 18-year-old. First-overall pick, tons of pressure. But he comes to the rink with the same mindset, the same mentality, battles hard. And he does it with a smile.

“He and Sid are kind of the ones that put the franchise back on track. And the rest is history.”

For the ones who were in the room for that ascent, there’s no confusion about how pivotal No. 29’s buoyant personality was to the heights Crosby’s Penguins reached in those early days. With it all in the rear-view, it might just seem a sure thing — that Nos. 87 and 71 were always going to pull the wayward Penguins up, lead them to multiple Stanley Cup Finals, restore the respect for the crest.

But in the room, it wasn’t so simple. The pressure was immense. Crosby’s core were only in their early 20’s, a few years into their careers, when the Penguins marched to their first Final and lost, and when they made it all the way back the next year, and won. At every step, there was Fleury, smiling and laughing and scheming through it all.

“You know, he’s really good at looking at the positives,” Crosby said of those days as teammates, with a wide grin. “He likes to have fun. He has a smile on his face every day. And on top of that, he works hard. He’s a great teammate. He definitely has a knack for finding ways to do certain pranks and keep things light.

“And that’s what you need. That’s part of playing on a team.”

The pranks, specifically, hold a particular place among Penguins lore. So much so, it was these moments of unbridled locker-room joy that the team chose to highlight Tuesday night when they honoured Fleury on the jumbotron, early in what wound up a 5-3 Minnesota win.

So fundamental to the Fleury experience was the netminder’s mischief, it’s tough to even pinpoint the most impressive of the bunch.

“Jeez, there’s a lot,” Crosby said with a chuckle when asked to pick one out. “I think the packing peanuts in our strength coach’s car was pretty good. Seeing him stand on the roof of a car and pile those things to the sunroof will be forever engrained in my mind.”

“I like when he put stuff in the rafters, the clothing,” added Letang. “I think he did it for Daniel Sprong, he did it for (Justin) Schultz, he did it for (Bryan) Rust. … They didn’t know until a couple guys gave them a hint. I liked that one.”

“And then there’s a lot that he probably doesn’t take credit for,” said Crosby. “He’s been behind a lot over the years. He always finds new ways to come up with new things.”

For the mastermind himself, it was a more large-scale operation that takes the cake.

“I think the one that was on TV,” Fleury offered with a smile, referring to the prank he pulled on rookies Mark Letestu and Ben Lovejoy at the team hotel in 2011, as documented in Road To The Winter Classic. “Taking all the beds, the nightstands, the frames, and putting it by the elevator.”

By the time Mike Sullivan arrived years after that all-timer — joining the organization for the final two years of Fleury’s Penguins tenure, both of which ended in Cup rings — the impact those moments had on the group was clear.

“I think Flower has a way about him,” the coach said of what he saw in their time together. “He lightens up his world, and everybody that’s associated with it. He has a certain passion for life, and what he does every day when he comes into the rink. It’s hard not to smile when you’re around him. … I think that personality is contagious.”

In the years after Fleury’s run with the team ended — the Vegas expansion draft forcing the club’s hand some, as they passed the reins to Matt Murray full-time — the absence of that daily, unceasing joy has been noticeable.

“Probably on the plane,” Crosby said of where he felt it most. “I spent a lot of years sitting next to him — good game, bad game, it was always fun to just chat after games. Just his attitude, if you won five in a row or lost five in a row, you would never know with him.”

“It’s part of life, you know? It’s part of our business, that people come and go,” added Letang. “But a guy like that, that had been here since the beginning, we won with him — obviously it was a big hole. But you have to eventually move on, and refocus. … You have to deal with it.”

Nine times before, in the near-decade since, the Penguins and their former star netminder have reunited as opponents. But here, in the 10th meeting, the final one in the house he helped build, it had a different feel.

Not for the first time, but in all likelihood for the last, Pittsburgh said goodbye to their beloved No. 29.

“He’s a great friend,” Crosby had said on the eve of that farewell. “Someone that shared a lot of great times, and has been through a lot of adversity, too. You know, we’ve basically grown up together in the league, trying to find our way. He means a lot. I think he means a lot to me, means a lot to the organization, and I’m sure the fans.

“He’s been an incredible teammate, and an incredible player, for a long time.”

For Letang, who began his big-league career as a teenaged hopeful, staying in Fleury’s house while navigating the first chapter of NHL life, it was a fitting end. One last chance for Pittsburgh to chant the franchise legend’s name, one last chance to show him how much they love him, still. The reasons need no explanation.

“I mean, what’s not to love?” Letang said with a smile, after reflecting on their years together. “That’s the question, honestly. There’s not a mean bone in his body. He comes to the rink with a big smile on his face. He plays the game with a big smile. He’s a great teammate.

“It’s hard not to love a guy like that.”

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