Former Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains 'the same exact guy'

Pittsburgh Penguins fans got a chance to see the player who once was projected to be the franchise’s goaltender of the future for the Minnesota Wild Monday night.

Filip Gustavsson.

A second-round pick (No. 55 overall) in 2016, Gustavsson was viewed by management at that time as potentially being the Penguins’ foundation in net. Instead, he has established himself as the Minnesota Wild’s goaltender of the present.

His backup?

A journeyman from days of future past by the name of Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Wild have games on back-to-back days, and Fleury is projected to get the start Tuesday in Boston against the Bruins.

So not playing the Penguins in what could be his final visit to Pittsburgh as an active player was bittersweet for Fleury, one of the most popular athletes ever in this region.

But the 20-year veteran understands winning comes before any kind of celebratory homecoming.

“That’s OK,” Fleury said at PPG Paints Arena after the Wild’s morning skate. “I get to play (Tuesday). The team has been good. The team has been winning lately. (Gustavsson) has been awesome. Just got to keep it rolling.”

The first overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft by the Penguins, Fleury has seen his dazzling career roll on for the better part of two decades. But at 39, he openly acknowledges this could be his final season in the NHL, even if he stops short of declaring as much.

“It just feels like time flies so quick,” Fleury said. “My whole time here, my career, it’s 20 years. It’s gone by so fast. It’s insane. Obviously, I’m very lucky to do something I love. It goes by quick. The season started, and it’s Christmas already.”

Even in the winter of his existence as an NHLer, Fleury is the gift that keeps on giving as he remains a roundly popular teammate, many of whom are the targets of his infamous pranks.

“A lot of the same stuff,” said Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski, himself a former member of the Penguins. “Shaving cream in the towels and things like that.”

“He’s the same exact guy, which is a good thing. He’s an amazing dude, obviously. A great teammate. A good friend. It’s fun to come up together. Awesome guy to play with.”

Fleury and Goligoski were part of an influx of young talent the Penguins brought in during the mid-2000s that pulled the team out of its post-Jaromir Jagr hangover and ushered in the greatest era the franchise has ever known.

The Penguins’ three most recent Stanley Cup banners that hang from the rafters of PPG Paints Arena are evidence of that success.

“Winning is always nice,” Fleury said. “It’s what we play for. The journey together, having (forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Max Talbot), a bunch of young guys. We lost together, then we started winning every year a bit more all the way to the (Stanley) Cup. It was very fun to be part of that process.”

“We didn’t win much at all when I first came in and building it to a good team and having some success. Yeah, I take a lot of pride in those years.”

No matter what decision Fleury makes about his future beyond this season, he clearly doesn’t have much time left as an NHLer.

As such, the “Flower” is taking time to smell the roses this season.

Especially Monday.

“I think I want to enjoy every day, enjoy the guys, enjoy Pittsburgh a little bit, see the guys here,” Fleury said. “One day at a time.

“Just enjoy the day, enjoy the people.”