The place of the main goalkeeper of the leading NHL club is not assigned to the player only for his former services to the team. This place needs to be defended daily, because promising newcomers breathe in the back all the time, for whom this is an opportunity to prove themselves and gain a foothold in the team. Mark Andre Fleury, the Pittsburgh Penguins goalkeeper, unexpectedly found himself on the bench and is now trying to regain the confidence of the team and coaching staff.
Pittsburgh Penguins Goalkeeper Biography
Mark was born in the small town of Sorel-Tracy, which is located in the south-west of Quebec in Canada (November 28, 1984). Thanks to his French surname, Marc Andre Flairy earned the nickname "Flower".
He began his career in the Quebec Junior Hockey League in 2000, playing for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles team. For high performance, he was immediately included in the youth team of Canada, where he earned his first silver medal at the World Junior Championships. He was also noted as a reliable goalkeeper, playing for the All Star Team of the Quebec Junior League team (reserve squad).
At the age of 18, Mark Andre Fleury in Nashville was selected first in the 2003 draft pick. In fact, he became the third goalkeeper in the history of the NHL, who showed such a result. Before him, this was only possible for Michel Plass (1968) and Rick Dipietro (2000). The latter, however, completed his playing career very early due to multiple injuries that haunted the talented goalkeeper.
First NHL team
Fleury spent the debut match for his new team in the same year on October 10. The rivals of the “penguins” were the “Los Angeles Kings” club and the young goalkeeper set his personal record by making 46 saves and breaking one bullet. It should be noted that no matter how fate threw it, from the NHL to the AHL and vice versa, he remained faithful to his team.
In the 2005/06 season, Mark Andre Fleury secured the right to be the "number one" club of the Pittsburgh. But the goalkeeper earned the Pittsburgh Penguins fans special love in 2008 when his team made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that Flower showed was akin to science fiction. Sidney Crosby, Eugene Malkin and Mark Fleury became exactly those players of the club, thanks to which the “penguins” made it to the finals.
Despite the fact that the team still lost the final match, no one could even blame the goalkeeper of the Pittsburgh team in his thoughts. Well, after a year, the coveted Cup still ended up in the hands of the team. And since then, the three Flary-Malkin-Crosby has enjoyed the special love of the fans of this club. True, this final match Mark did not lead as brilliantly as the previous season, but was quite reliable, and his save 2 seconds before the end of the seventh final match made more than one heart beat faster.
Retired early
Despite the fact that in the seasons of 14/15 years in Mark's career there has been a decline, it is still too early to completely write him off. A few unsuccessful matches do not mean that the goalkeeper of the “penguins” has nothing to offer his team. His contract with the club was signed until 2018, and it is unlikely that Mark Andre Fleury plans to spend this time on the bench. Ahead of the World Championships and the Olympic Games, and a place in the gates of the Canadian team can take any distinguished goalkeeper, so there is something to try for. And the fact that the place of the main goalkeeper of the Pittsburgh Penguins is now taken by the young and talented Matt Murray does not mean that Flary will sit back, of course, he will try to regain his place in the club, demonstrating a reliable and stable game.
Marc Andre Fleury: the hockey family
Mark officially formalized his relationship with Veronica Laroz in 2012, although they had known each other for 15 years. In 2013, baby Estelle appeared in the family, who was so named by Mark Andre Fleury. The hockey player’s personal life went well, and in 2015, another daughter appeared in the family, who was named Scarlett.
Despite temporary setbacks on ice, this goalkeeper has been and remains the favorite of many Pittsburgh Penguins fans, and indeed the entire overseas hockey league. The contribution he made to the development of this sport is much larger than all the mistakes he made in recent seasons. By the way, Marc Andre Fleury is the gold medalist of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
I would like to believe that the final point in the career of this goalkeeper is still very early, but time will tell how the game will develop next with this, no doubt, the most talented goalkeeper.