Will Paul Alexander Ever Get Real Work in Pittsburgh Sports Again

All a Fleury

Penguins star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury brought habitation the Stanley Cup with his lightning-speed save in the final moments of Game vii. In this exclusive interview, FSN'due south Paul Alexander reveals the man backside the mask.

In what has been a whirlwind of celebration and jubilation, there is still but 1 paradigm that is etched forever in the minds of Pittsburgh Penguins fans: It is the desperate lunging save of Marc-Andre Fleury in the final seconds of Game 7 of the Stanley Loving cup Final.

That save and its significance will forever change the long and lean goaltender with the 100,000-watt smile that doesn't have an off switch. The swain branded with the "tin can't win the big one" label had silenced his critics and had proved correct his coaches and teammates who had unwavering conviction in their man between the pipes.

The validation goes back to 2003 when the Penguins and so-general manager Craig Patrick traded up to brand Fleury the No. i overall option in the draft. It continued with the $35 million contract extension offered and accepted 2 years ago.

Fleury may indeed be happy-become-lucky and actually play the game of hockey but because he loves it, but don't allow that smile and Opie Taylor demeanor fool you. Fleury is a fierce competitor and admits there is a certain satisfaction with shutting up the naysayers. Yous remember the so-called experts who said Fleury would never win a Cup and that goaltending would be the divergence between Pittsburgh and Detroit.

"Almost of the people that talk never played hockey before," Fleury says. "I really don't worry as well much about what people say, merely when you can prove them incorrect, that'southward pretty good I approximate. I don't spend any time thinking nigh it, merely after the fact, information technology feels pretty good." That's about as vengeful equally Fleury tin get, only he does admit that the smile may hide a certain intensity that is a prerequisite to compete at the level at which he excels.

"I call back Marc is definitely an elite goaltender," passenger vehicle Dan Bylsma explains. "First and foremost, there has to be a certain talent level and he has that. There likewise has to be a mentality, and that is there as well."

There are merely certain positions in sports that absolutely require that certain mentality that Bylsma referred to. Goaltender, identify-kicker, closer and cornerback demand brusk-term memories and the ability to bounce back from being public enemy No. 1 that has killed the dreams of their fans and teammates with a soft goal, a shank or a waist-loftier fastball.

"Marc's ability to finish the adjacent one is the fundamental," Bylsma says. "You know with him that afterwards one [puck] gets by him, he will definitely cease the next 1. He's that fashion in exercise. If you lot shell him once, he'll go you on the next one. That is an aristocracy goaltender's mindset. He volition ever bounce dorsum after a bad goal or a bad game."

Fleury also appears to be oblivious to the criticism or the lack of respect he may go far the press. He playfully apologized to the thousands of fans at the Penguins Stanley Cup commemoration parade for "letting in" a few soft goals. However, after his MVP-worthy performance throughout the postseason, his amends certainly wasn't necessary.

"Marc answers questions with actions," Bylsma says. "He merely lets his game speak for him. He also continues to become meliorate and has continued to improve every year he's played."

Bylsma says the news media and the fans similar to reduce players' value and power to a simple snapshot. Before the Loving cup-winning effort last season, Fleury was associated with the fluke goal in the World Juniors against Team USA in 2004 that cost Canada the gold medal or with the failure to forcefulness a Game 7 against Detroit in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. That prompted the "tin can't win the big i" whispers that grew louder as the playoffs unfolded. "That snapshot correct now is Marc making that save against [Nicklas] Lidstrom," Bylsma says. "That is what everyone will run into at present. He is an aristocracy goaltender."

There are also some other "snapshots" from the Penguins' run to the Cup that captured Fleury at his absolute best. There was the toe relieve against Jeff Carter in Game 2 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins went on to win that game in overtime. And so in that location was the glove salvage on an Alexander Ovechkin breakaway in Game 7 against the Washington Capitals. Even before the dramatic stop on Lidstrom in the final seconds, he robbed Dan Cleary on a breakaway belatedly in Game 6 in Pittsburgh.

"I do take flashbacks when I see the highlights," Fleury says. "I run into them fairly ofttimes and I get goose bumps. I tin can't help but smiling and think about what we did."

Fleury's much-anticipated plow with the Cup was Aug. 6. His first official moment involved spooning some cereal and milk from professional sports' most-famous and storied piece of hardware. The lingering aroma of stale champagne did zilch to diminish the special day that he had earned. It was time to party with more than than 200 family and friends in his hometown of Sorel, Quebec.

"It was a crazy day," Fleury recalls. "Information technology was so hectic, but I wanted anybody to get the chance to encounter it and share it with as many people as possible. The day just flew by and everyone had a nail." That is despite a crude first to the twenty-four hour period.

After the ceremonial cereal, Fleury took Lord Stanley for a ride on the lake in his boat. Minutes into the voyage, the boat stalled, and Fleury and the Cup were stranded. 1 of Fleury'southward neighbors came to his rescue and quickly constitute the problem: A rope had attached itself to the propeller and shut downwards the engine. Disaster avoided.

"Just equally we got the rope untangled, ane of my buddies came by on his Body of water-doo," Fleury says. "He was just trying to assistance, simply the whole thing was pretty funny."

It was like Christmas coming early for Fleury, who loved sharing his day with the Cup with his family and friends. As for the actual Christmas vacation, Fleury will nearly likely celebrate the holidays in Pittsburgh. "I don't accept time to go back. I don't know the schedule. If I have a couple of days maybe I'll get dorsum domicile and have a Christmas political party, merely otherwise we'll only stay in Pittsburgh."

Whether or non Fleury does get in abode, he will be with his family unit and his girlfriend. "I like everything well-nigh Christmas," Fleury says. "It's and so cold, a niggling snowfall. Everybody's happy, shopping, buying presents and skillful food, as well."

It'southward hard to imagine any Christmas present, by or present, compared with the Stanley Loving cup rings Fleury and his teammates earned terminal twelvemonth. Despite all of the celebrations and the satisfaction of finally reaching the mountaintop, there are no signs of self-approbation on this team. "I am even so hungry," Fleury says. "I would love to do it again, and I am broken-hearted to get back to work and get back with the guys."

Hockey has been a office of Fleury's life since he was 5. His dad played, and that's just what kids in Canada do. He didn't accept much involvement in or ability to score goals, but he sure thought that goalie gear was absurd. He likewise loved diving around on the ice. Fleury likewise learned that after he had officially declared himself a goaltender, the best part was that he never came off the ice. He got to play the unabridged game.

Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur chop-chop became his idols. It should come as no surprise that, aside from Brodeur'southward obvious skill, Fleury was impressed that he could always come across the pure joy Brodeur had in playing the game. He laughed; he talked with everyone on the ice, and oh yeah, he won large games and made bang-up saves.

Slowly and surely, Fleury's skills took on larger-than-life dimensions. The catlike quickness with the glove and the Gumby-similar flexibility in the legs propelled him to Greatcoat Breton in Quebec's famous Major Juniors. His four years there were so exceptional that his No. 29 jersey was retired recently. At the time, he didn't retrieve it could become any better than that.

That was until the clock finally hit double zeroes at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, and Fleury's life would never exist the same. He certainly plans on calculation to the legacy and, at 24 years old, the odds are great that he volition. But with his name on the Cup and his stamp all over the deciding game, Fleury has arrived.

At that place was also a celebrated trip to the White House to meet with President Obama, who said the players looked good without their playoff beards and that he idea it must be pretty good to exist a sports fan in Pittsburgh.

That day started with Fleury and couple of his teammates skating with some inner-city kids in Washington, D.C. "Information technology was pretty cool," Fleury says, "to see some kids, teach them tips about hockey. They all wanted to know how practice a butterfly."

Potential in sports simply means "hasn't washed it yet," and when all is said and done, when pundits and fans debate who is the all-time of the all-time, championships provide the separation. So while Fleury hasn't realized all of that wonderful potential and shouldn't be considered the best of all time just yet, his pedigree has always been there, and now his dossier has changed dramatically. Some things that probably will never change though are the personality and the attitude.

"I just love to play hockey," Fleury says. "I love to exist around the guys. Since the offseason was so short, I didn't get in to the gym as much as I would have liked. I wanted to put on a fiddling weight, but I can't wait to get back to work and do what we can to do this over again."

I affair is for sure. The Penguins will never follow a script like that once more to a championship – autumn dangerously close to missing the playoffs, fire the caput motorcoach and so go on an unprecedented run to and through the postseason and knock off the defending Stanley Cup champs in their building in a seventh and deciding game. Hollywood doesn't come up upwards with anything that unbelievable, simply there is also another certainty to evolve from what just transpired this past hockey flavour. Fleury will never be referred to again as the guy who tin't win the big ane, and it's difficult to imagine the experts' giving someone other than the Penguins a decided edge in the goaltending matchup.

Penguins fans have been lucky enough to watch Fleury grow up right before their eyes. Practise you remember – at 18 – he was the youngest goaltender ever to start an NHL game?

Many thought when he stood on his head and staved off elimination in Game 5 against the Wings in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final that Fleury had arrived. He was close, and he had taken an extremely crucial step toward becoming the goalie that could help you win it all. Yes, "The Flower," as many call him (Fleury is similar to the French give-and-take for "flower"), blossomed and the consequence was exactly what everyone including Fleury had dreamed of: Perfection.

Not fifty-fifty the softest of goals or the most embarrassing of falls could wipe that trademark smile from Fleury'south face. And then at present that the ultimate goal has been achieved, and the hereafter appears even brighter than those pearly whites, Pittsburgh might desire to wait in to defraying some of its free energy costs and find a way to tap in to 1 of the Penguins' greatest resource – Marc-Andre Fleury'southward mega-watt smile.

Paul Alexander brings more than than 20 years of experience covering Pittsburgh sports. Paul, who joined the FSN network in 2006, serves as the primary Steelers reporter. He worked for KDKA Tv set and Radio as the forenoon anchor offset in 1998 before moving to the sports department in 2001. In 2003, Paul added KDKA'south nightly radio sports call-in testify to his TV duties. He is a graduate of Penn State Academy.

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Source: https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/all-a-fleury/

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