Marc-Andre Fleury enjoys benefits of long goodbye with Penguins
It's easy to understand why it's something Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't spent much time considering yet.
After all, the last week of his life has been the ultimate whirlwind, what with Stanley Cup celebrations, a victory parade, the dedication of a playground he paid for in McKees Rocks and a farewell autograph signing at Dick's Sporting Goods in Cranberry on Tuesday night.
But reality is about to strike. Within 24 hours, barring an unforeseen circumstance, a man who has worn nothing but a penguin on his chest since 2004 will be pulling on the jersey of the Vegas Golden Knights.
By all accounts, he will be chosen in the NHL expansion draft and take the stage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as the face of the league's newest team.
“Oh, jeez. I haven't really thought about it,” Fleury said. “I've been busy at home here. It could be coming up soon. I think it still won't feel real until next season and next training camp when I don't come back here. That's when it's really going to hit me.”
For the last week, it hit Fleury in small doses — when thousands of fans chanted his name as he rolled in the back of a pickup truck down the Boulevard of the Allies at the victory parade, or when fan after fan looked him in the eye, shook his hand and thanked him for his decade-plus of service to their hometown team at the signing at Dick's.
“It's been a little crazy,” Fleury said. “Wherever I go, people have been great to me. They always say hi, take a picture or something. They all have very kind words. Sometimes, it's a little emotional, but it's very flattering.”
Because of the peculiar nature of his departure from the Penguins, Fleury has enjoyed the benefits of a long goodbye.
All the well wishes from fans have made it harder to leave, Fleury said, but he also appreciates not having been traded and shuffled out of town like the Colts leaving Baltimore.
“Definitely,” Fleury said. “There were so many talks about it at the trade deadline. I was thinking you leave mid-afternoon from the hotel, you don't see anybody and you go to your new team.
“I'm happy I had the chance to take my last lap with the jersey on with the Cup in my hands and have a few days, a few weeks, to be in Pittsburgh and say thanks to people, leaving a little slower.”
While all signs point to Fleury being the player taken from the Penguins in the draft, some elements of intrigue remain when the televised event starts Wednesday night.
Did the Penguins have to strike a deal with the Golden Knights to ensure Fleury's selection? If so, what other pieces were involved in the trade?
How many side deals will Vegas have made by the time the dust has settled — legal bribes, more or less, to make sure they take a particular player from one team or lay off a player from another? How many players will they have picked with the express intent of flipping them to another team shortly after draft proceedings are over?
The bold-faced headline — Fleury leaves Penguins for Vegas — has already essentially been written, but plenty of subplots need to play out.
For instance, might Fleury end up reunited in Vegas with former Penguins winger James Neal, who was left unprotected by the Nashville Predators?
It's an idea he has considered during his long goodbye.
“There's still so much up in the air. Both of us don't know what's going to happen. That would be good, though,” Fleury said. “I've played for a little while, so I've got to meet a lot of good guys, a lot of guys who came in and out of Pittsburgh. It would be nice to have a friend on the team I'm going to and make the transition a little easier.”
Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.
