Let's get one thing out of the way: Marc-Andre Fleury is the franchise leader in goalie point shares for the Vegas Golden Knights. He had a total of 35.4, putting him fourth overall in team history. His on-ice contributions have given the team the desperately needed jumpstart, where they made the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
It's easy to see why. He's made three All-Star Game appearances and won a Vezina Trophy in 2020-21. In turn, he's established himself as the franchise's main face, providing a steady dose of goaltending before being traded. Being the unequivocal leader in goalie point shares shows he's the most valuable netminder of Vegas's lifetime. Therefore, he's earned himself a spot in the team's growing history.
But how badly did Fleury beat the competition? How far away was he compared to Adin Hill and Logan Thompson? The answer could shock you and see how important "Flower" was to the team's success. It would also put into perspective what would've happened if the Golden Knights chose a different player with the 29th pick in the 2017 Expansion Draft. Here's how the netminder was far and away the essential star for the Golden Knights.
Putting into perspective how Marc-Andre Fleury blew names like Logan Thompson out of the water
If you want to see how Marc-Andre Fleury was the best goaltender in the short history of the Vegas Golden Knights, look at who sat in second place. Logan Thompson had a goaltender point share of 19.4, nearly half of what Fleury had throughout his Golden Knights career. It shows how fortunate they were that the former Penguins netminder was exposed during that NHL Expansion Draft.
If it weren't for Fleury being unprotected (or Matt Murray), there would be no Stanley Cup Final run. There would be no blowing through the Western Conference to get to that point. Therefore, fans wouldn't have as much of a vested interest in the team. It set the course for the team to be a constant force throughout the NHL, making them second to none.
So who was in third place? It was a tie, with Robin Lehner and Adin Hill getting a point share of 11.1. Malcolm Subban sat in fifth with a point share of 8.1, while Laurent Brosssoit followed him with a total of 5.1. The rest of the list contains names like Jonathan Quick (1.5), Jiri Patera (1.5), Oscar Dansk (0.8), and Maxime Legace (0.3), all of who had point shares less than two.
If you want a deeper perspective on how it's better to be lucky than good, look at Marc-Andre Fleury being a Golden Knight. Since he left the team, there hasn't been anybody who's been reliable like he has. The good news is Vegas has a couple of nice prospects that could be starting in the future. Hopefully, the team won't be chasing ghosts by that time.