Fleury’s Cup pass surprises Murray
Veteran reportedly waives no-movement clause with expansion draft near
NASHVILLE, TENN.— Matt Murray prides himself on staying in the moment, on thinking about the next shot or save, on not getting too caught up in any one thing. He couldn’t help himself here. Not when Marc-Andre Fleury located him post-game and handed him the Stanley Cup, way before Murray ever expected to receive it following the Penguins’ 2-0 win over the Predators in Game 6 of the final Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.
“I was hanging out, and he came over,” Murray recalled. “I thought he was going to somebody else.”
Fleury wasn’t. And the gesture had Murray’s voice cracking a bit when he discussed it afterward.
“He’s been a really important mentor for me,” Murray said of Fleury. “He’s been so supportive over the last couple years. There’s no way I’m able to play as freely as I have been without Flower being there to support me.
“He’s meant everything to me . . . That made me pretty emotional, actually. It meant a lot to me.
“My rank on this team is way at the bottom. We have a lot of experienced players. Usually that’s how it goes. I was able to get it before some of the guys. That’s only because of Flower.”
The franchise’s longest tenured player and among its most beloved was also reason No. 1 the Penguins were even on the ice celebrating a fifth Cup.
If not for what Fleury did against Columbus and Washington, the Penguins aren’t here.
Fleury tried to remind himself of those performances as he held the Cup, trying like hell to enjoy it more than he did last season.
“I tried to remember those games,” Fleury said. “Obviously you want to play the last game and sweat and battle for the Cup. It’s the way it is.
“I was happy to get a chance again to lift the Cup. Me and Matt did it together for the playoffs. I thought it would be nice to share with him.”
The gesture may turn out to be symbolic, too.
Fleury has reportedly waived his no-trade clause, clearing the way for him to be exposed in next week’s expansion draft to stock the Vegas Golden Knights — or dealt away before then.
Fleury was drafted at Bridgestone Arena as the No. 1 overall pick in 2003. He broke in with a horrible Penguins outfit that only got good when his best friends — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and others — came aboard.
Now, they’ve won three Cups together.
“It’s pretty good,” Fleury said. “It still feels a little bit unbelievable. Those are great guys, great teammates, great friends. I’m proud we were able to do this together.”
Murray will likely be the goaltender for that group for the foreseeable future, but that didn’t stop Fleury from serving as a mentor.
It’s the type of personality that has endeared him to the fan base in the first place and will make him an asset wherever he winds up.
“The fact that he handed me the Cup there says a lot about who Flower is,” Murray said. “That meant so much to me for him to do that. I don’t know what made him do that, but I’m very thankful for having him around, to call him a friend and a mentor. He’s a special human being.”