Marc-Andre Fleury appreciative of love from Penguins fans even while sitting out Monday's game

Don’t take this the wrong way, Pittsburgh Penguins fans. But Marc-Andre Fleury was trying to avoid hearing you chant for him to get into the game Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.

“I didn’t want to hear it,” Fleury said after his Minnesota Wild lost to the Penguins 4-3. “Because I wanted us to win and our guys to do well, right? That’s always the most important. But it’s still … I’m looking for the right word. It’s weird, but a good feeling.”

After being part of three Stanley Cup championship teams in Pittsburgh, Fleury is playing his 20th NHL season in Minnesota. Since leaving the Pens after the 2017 championship, he’s also played in Las Vegas and Chicago, leaving the same legacy of sportsmanship, teamwork and joie de vivre for hockey at each stop as he did here.

“He’s a popular guy with his teammates and his coaches. He was a very popular guy with the fan base here in Pittsburgh,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of Fleury. “‘Flower’s body of work speaks for itself. He’s a Hall of Famer in my book. He was such a huge part of the core here that built that tradition of excellence that exists today.”

The 39-year-old goaltender has four games to play before hitting 1,000 regular-season contests. With 548 wins, Fleury also only needs four more to pass Patrick Roy and claim second place all-time behind Martin Brodeur (691).

But he wasn’t given a chance to close ground on either accomplishment Tuesday in front of an adoring crowd that largely turned out to see Fleury play in Pittsburgh at least one more time. It’s been speculated that this could be Fleury’s final year in the NHL before retiring. If it is, this was Minnesota’s only trip to the city where Fleury spent his first 13 seasons in the league.

However, Wild coach John Hynes elected to start Filip Gustavsson (a former Penguins prospect) at PPG Paints Arena, saving Fleury for Tuesday’s game in Boston. Entering Monday’s loss, Gustavsson had won three in a row, allowing just three total goals in the three contests.

“That’s just kind of the plan that we had. (Goaltending coach) Freddy (Chabot) talks to the goalies prior to the year, map some things out, and we go month by month,” Hynes said before the game.

That didn’t seem to be a satisfactory rationale for those in attendance to absorb. They booed the announcement of Gustavsson’s name in the starting lineup and chanted for Fleury after the Pens scored their first three goals.

"We want Fleury" chants in Pittsburgh ???? pic.twitter.com/ABzdZcYZnm

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 19, 2023

“It was a little awkward,” Gustavsson said. “It is what it is. The coach told me to play. I showed up to do my job.”

Hynes, a former coach at Wilkes Barre-Scranton, understood the discontent of the paying customers.

“I mean, who doesn’t love Flower? He’s had a great career. He’s been fantastic here, not only on the ice but off the ice. So I’m not surprised,” Hynes said.

For his part, Fleury was diplomatic about Hynes’ decision.

“We talked this morning. Gus has been good. The whole team has been good,” Fleury said. “It is what it is. That’s fine. I just have to say thank you to the fans for their welcoming, the cheers during the game.”

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That wasn’t always the case in Pittsburgh. There were rough times here. The fans were often hard on Fleury, even after he won the 2009 Stanley Cup. But Fleury never let that get to him or change his joyful demeanor. That seemed to resonate with the fans during his later years here when he was serving as a backup for Matt Murray when the tandem won two Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

But, by the time he left and in the five years since, Fleury’s popularity hasn’t waned. In fact, to a degree, you can almost argue it’s grown.

“People have been so good to me here,” Fleury said. “Seeing the signs, the jerseys. People saying ‘hi’ at the rink, on the street, at the hotel. It’s always nice.”

For as much of that interaction as Fleury has enjoyed over the years, even he saw a new twist on Monday. During warmups, a young girl made her way rink side with a hand-scribbled sign that read, “Fleury is my middle name.” So Fleury tried to interact with her on the other side of the glass and pose for a picture.

This pregame moment between Marc-Andre Fleury and a young fan is everything ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TSaLx8ldRN

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 18, 2023

“I don’t know,” Fleury said of the girl having his name. “I’ve heard of dogs and cats before. But it’s an honor that people would do something like that. She seemed like a sweet girl. It’s pretty crazy to see that.”

Based on Pittsburgh’s love for Fleury, my guess is she’s not the only one.

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer discuss the Penguins’ win over the Wild and Minnesota’s decision to sit Marc-Andre Fleury.