Marc-André Fleury
| Marc-André Fleury | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Marc Andre Fleury.jpg | |||
| Born |
November 28, 1984 Sorel, QC | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| NHL team | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| NHL draft |
1st overall, 2003 Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| Playing career | 2004(NHL)–present | ||
Marc-André Fleury (b. November 28, 1984 in Sorel, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is the goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. He is only the third goalie to be chosen first overall in the NHL draft, with the others being Michel Plasse and Rick DiPietro. Fleury was also known for his unique bright yellow goalie pads in his junior hockey career.
NHL career
Fleury was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and is considered one of the premier young talents in the league.[1] [2]
He made his debut in 2003-04, and played 21 games. He was rotated regularly and split the season with fellow netminders Jean-Sebastien Aubin and Sebastien Caron. He immediately began to show promising results with a 46 save performance against Los Angeles and 31 saves in a 4-3 win over Dominik Hasek and the Detroit Red Wings.[3] His first NHL shutout came October 30, 2003 in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.[3] However, as the season progressed, his performance began to sink, largely due to Pittsburgh's poor defense-[3] the team regularly gave up over 30 shots per game, and rarely managed to become an offensive threat.[4]
During the labour dispute, Fleury played for the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he posted a 26-19-4 record with a goals against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of 0.901.
In 2005-06, Fleury was periodically sent back down to the AHL affiliate, where he had a solid performance. On November 28, he was called up to play in Pittsburgh for the rest of the season. While his team fared poorly throughout the year, Fleury's statistics remained relatively good. The Penguins finished last in the Eastern Conference and with the worst defense, allowing 316 goals,[5] but Fleury managed to hold a save percentage of 0.898, which was about .020 higher than Sebastien Caron or Jocelyn Thibault.
Despite playing in front of 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.[6]
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 until Fleury left the net to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. Instead, it bounced off of Patrick O'Sullivan's leg and went into the empty net, giving the Americans the lead in the third period.
Accolades
- Silver medal in the IIHF World Junior Championships: 2003, 2004
- 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
Career statistics
Regular season
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | Cape Breton | QMJHL | 35 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 1704 | 115 | 0 | 4.05 | .886 |
| 2001-02 | Cape Breton | QMJHL | 55 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 3043 | 141 | 2 | 2.78 | .915 |
| 2002-03 | Cape Breton | QMJHL | 51 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 2889 | 162 | 2 | 3.36 | .910 |
| 2003-04 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 22 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 1154 | 70 | 1 | 3.64 | .896 |
| 2003-04 | Cape Breton | QMJHL | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 606 | 20 | 0 | 1.98 | .933 |
| 2003-04 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | AHL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | |
| 2004-05 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | AHL | 54 | 26 | 19 | 4 | 3029 | 127 | 5 | 2.52 | .901 |
| 2005-06 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 50 | 13 | 27 | 0 | 2809 | 152 | 1 | 3.25 | .898 |
| NHL CAREER TOTALS | 72 | 17 | 41 | 2 | 3963 | 222 | 2 | 3.36 | .897 | ||
Notes
- ^ "TSN player profile". Retrieved 2006-09-02.
- ^ Wigge, Larry (2005-12-23). "A Penguin other than Crosby draws rave reviews". NHL.com. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
- ^ a b c Worgo, Tom (2003-12-01). "It was all about the money". Hockey Digest. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
- ^ Kreiser, John (2003-12-12). "WJC respite should help Fleury". NHL.com. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
- ^ "2005-2006 Conference Standings". Retrieved 2006-09-02.
- ^ "Penguins sign Fleury to two-year deal". 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2006-09-02.