Marc-André Fleury

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Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
Nickname(s)	Flower[1]
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg/12 st 12 lb)
NHL Team	Pittsburgh Penguins
Nationality	Canada
Born	November 28, 1984 (1984-11-28) (age 23), Sorel-Tracy, QC, CAN
NHL Draft	1st overall, 2003 Pittsburgh Penguins
Pro career	2003 – present

Marc-André Fleury (born November 28, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is the goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.

[edit] Playing career

Fleury began major junior in the QMJHL for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2000-01. After a strong 2002-03 campaign that included a silver medal with Team Canada and QMJHL Second Team All-Star honours, he was chosen first overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is only the third goalie to be chosen first overall in the NHL draft, after Michel Plasse and Rick DiPietro.

Fleury immediately made his NHL debut in 2003-04 and played 21 games before being returned to the QMJHL on January 29, 2004. He was rotated regularly and split time with fellow netminders Jean-Sébastien Aubin and Sebastien Caron. In his first NHL game, he recorded an impressive 46-save performance against Los Angeles which included a penalty shot save in a 2-0 loss. Fleury would record his first win in his very next start, with 31 saves in a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings.^[2] His first NHL shutout came October 30, 2003, in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.^[2] However, as the season progressed, his performance began to sink, largely due to Pittsburgh's poor defense.^[2] The team regularly gave up over 30 shots per game, and rarely managed to become an offensive threat.^[3] Upon being returned to major junior, Fleury competed in his second World Junior Championships with Canada and earned a second straight silver medal. Finishing the QMJHL season with Cape Breton in a first round elimination, Fleury was assigned to the Penguins' AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and appeared in 2 post-season games.

As NHL play was post-poned on account of the labour dispute, Fleury played 2004-05 with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he posted a 26-19-4 record, a goals against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of 0.901.

In 2005-06, Fleury started the season once more in the minors, but was called up for Pittsburgh's fourth game against Buffalo Sabres on October 10 to replace an injured Jocelyn Thibault. Because of management concerns over the payment of an NHL appearance bonus, he continued to play between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh until November 28, after which he remained with Pittsburgh. With the Penguins finishing last in the Eastern Conference and allowing a league-worst 316 goals,^[4] Fleury recorded a 3.25 GAA and a .898 save percentage. Competing for time with Sebastien Caron and Jocelyn Thibault, Fleury emerged as the Penguins' starting goalie.

Despite playing behind a very shaky defense, Fleury was able to impress the team management with his technique and performance. During the summer of 2006, he signed a two-year contract extension worth $2.59 million.^[5]

In the 2006-07 season, Fleury's stats improved significantly. Playing behind a better Penguins team, he recorded 5 shutouts and a 2.83 GAA. Earning his fortieth win in a 2-1 victory over the Rangers in the season finale, Fleury joined Tom Barasso as the only Penguins goaltender to record forty wins in a season. As Pittsburgh finished as the fifth seed, Fleury made his NHL playoff debut against eventual Stanley Cup finalists Ottawa. Fleury and the Penguins lost in five games.

Fleury started the 2007–08 season slowly before he suffered a high-ankle sprain mid-season. He was replaced by Ty Conklin, who carried the Penguins in his absence. After his rehabilitation and brief conditioning stint in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he rejoined the Penguins and improved significantly. He helped the Penguins win the Atlantic Division, and in the playoffs recorded 3 shutout victories and a 12-2 record on the way to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. He recorded possibly his best in-net performance of his career in Game 5 at Detroit, where he stopped 55 of 58 shots in a triple overtime win for the Penguins. However, the Penguins lost in game six.

On January 25, 2008 Fleury's #29 was retired by his junior team, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

[edit] Personal life

• Fleury was born in a small town near Montreal to his father André and his mother France.
• He has one sister (Marylene).
• When he was first drafted, he lived with Mario Lemieux for a brief period of time as he searched for more permanent living arrangements.^[6][7]

[edit] Awards

• NHL Rookie of the month - October 2003
• Mike Bossy Trophy - 2003
• CHL Third All-Star Team - 2003
• QMJHL Telus Defensive Player of the Year - 2003
• QMJHL Second All-Star Team - 2003

[edit] Career statistics

• Statistics as of end of 2007-08 season.

[edit] International play

Marc-Andre Fleury has won two silver medals with Team Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships.

Fleury is sometimes thought as a scapegoat for Canada after an unlucky goal in the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships gold medal game against the United States. The game was tied 3-3 with under five minutes left in regulation time when Fleury left the net to poke check the puck and clear a breakaway chance by the USA's Patrick O'Sullivan. The clearing attempt by Fleury hit his own defenceman, Canada's Braydon Coburn, and trickled into the net, resulting in a 4-3 final score and a gold medal for the USA ^[8].

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Marc-André Fleury's NHL player profile
• Marc-André Fleury's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database