Sometimes, fate has plans bigger than life itself. For example, Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Casual hockey fans might not look into this too much. However, Fleury playing against Vegas has significant meaning. How, you ask?
Well, he was the first goaltender to grace the ice for the Golden Knights. Throughout his career, he led Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final and won the Vezina Trophy in 2020-21. On top of that, he set countless franchise records that will stand the test of time.
Overall, he defined what it means to be a Golden Knight. The "Original Misfit" had a GAA of 2.41 and a save percentage of .917 during his four seasons in Las Vegas (both franchise bests). He also has the fourth-most point shares in franchise history (35), making him one of the most valuable Golden Knights ever.
With that, let's take a journey down Fleury's Las Vegas career. How did he get here? Was he dropped by a penguin on an airplane? Or did he get traded before the 2017-18 season? What was the one defining season (aside from the 2020-21 campaign) that made him special? It's time to give Flower, well, his flowers along with a proper send-off. Let's dive into Fleury's career with the Golden Knights.
How Marc-Andre Fleury got with the Vegas Golden Knights
"With the 29th pick in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights select..."
...Marc-Andre Fleury, who was left unprotected by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins were going with the younger Matt Murray, who had an impressive 2016-17 season. Here, he had a GAA of 2.41, a save percentage of .923, and 26 quality starts. The goaltender was fourth in the Calder Trophy voting that season, giving Pittsburgh its goalie of the future. At least, that's what they thought before being traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2020.
Still, getting Fleury on board was a big win. Now, you had your starting goaltender to lead the way. You could build a solid blue line to clog shooting lanes and get sticks in front of him. The plan was flawless. In fact, his first season with Vegas was a smash hit.
Here, he had a GAA of 2.24 and a save percentage of .927. He also had four shutouts and 31 quality starts in 46 starts. The former Penguins netminder even got an All-Star game appearance for his troubles, where the Pacific Division won the All-Star tournament! Fans know the rest of the story that was capped off by a Stanley Cup Final run.
How did Fleury's tenure end in Las Vegas?
Well, dear reader. It's not the most comforting story to tell. That's especially true when your star goaltender set the standard for an expansion franchise. In fact, hockey fans started labeling Kelly McCrimmon and the Golden Knights as "not loyal" and "dirty" to their best players as a result.
But here's how it went down. Fleury was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for minor league forward Mikael Hakkarainen. He was the first goaltender since Dominik Hasek to be traded as the defending Vezina Trophy winner.
What's worse was that neither Fleury nor his agent Allan Walsh was notified of the trade. They found out via... Twitter. That led the Vezina Trophy winner to contemplate retirement before he was swapped to the Minnesota Wild for a conditional 2022 second-round pick.
Make what you want of the saga. But it appears wounds heal over time. The hockey gods are giving Fleury one last opportunity to say goodbye to the expansion franchise that revitalized his career. It should be a legendary series that will leave fans in awe. Who knows, they might see the legendary netminder in net one more time at T-Mobile Arena.