Fleury one of best ever in Pittsburgh
would be leaving the Penguins for the love to come pouring down on him. For a long time, he was a polarizing figure in town. Until the 2017 playoffs started and he led the Penguins past Columbus and Washington in the first two rounds, he was looked at by many as being incapable of winning another Cup.
Butthere never were any suchdoubts about Fleury in thePenguins’ room. He goes downas the most popular teammatein franchise history, just as Bettis does with theSteelers and Stargell did withthe Pirates.
Istill can see Hines Ward sobbingpublicly after the Steelerslost the AFC championshipgame to New England afterthe 2004 season because hethought Bettis was going tohave to retire without a championship.I still can see thetribute Joey Porter paid toBettis the next season at SuperBowl XL when he held theirteammates back to allowBettis to run onto Detroit’sFord Field turf by himselfbefore the game.
“Iwanted the cameras to shineon Jerome alone,” Porter said.
I’ll never see a greater gesturefor a teammate — a greaterlove for a teammate —in my lifetime.
Theother players felt blessedto play with Bettis, not justbecause he inspired them towin that Super Bowl in his hometown,but because of the typeof man he was.
Stargellhad the same impactin the Pirates’ clubhouse. “Pops,”teammates lovingly calledhim. He was the patriarchof the “We Are Family” Pirateswho won the 1979 WorldSeries. The other playersacted like kids on Christmaswhen he handed out Stargellstars for their ball capsin recognition of their goodwork.
Ofcourse, Stargell did plentyof good work himself. Hewas co-MVP of the NationalLeague in 1979, then MVPin the National League Championship Series and WorldSeries that followed. Histwo-run home run off of Baltimore’sScott McGregor inthe sixth inning of Game 7 ofthe World Series was the big blowin the Pirates’ 4-1 win.
ButStargell’s 475 career homeruns and 1,540 RBIs are notwhat teammates remembermost about him.
“Our society is full of hatred ,” Al Oliver said at Star gel l’ s funeral in April ,2001.“He provedthat people of different racesand backgrounds can cometogether for one commonpurpose. In our case, that waswinning. The White Houseneeds to take a lesson fromWilver Dornel Stargell anddo a better job of bringing ourcountry together.”
Fleurypromoted the same sortof togetherness in the Penguins’very diverse room. Hegot along with everyone, nomatter their country of origin.Teammates wanted to be aroundhim. He made coming tothe rink fun every day. His positiveattitude never wavered,his infectious smile a constanteven on the worst days.
“He’sthe type of guy that I wantin my life at all times,” BrianDumoulin said last week.
Fleuryhas a good chance of joiningBettis and Stargell as a Hallof Famer. His 375 career winsrank 15th among goaltendersin NHL history, his 62 playoffwins 13th. His name is onthe Cup three times. He won’tturn 33 until Nov. 28. He hasplenty of good hockey left.
Allof that is wonderful stuff,but Fleury will be rememberedmore by teammatesfor the way he handled thepast two difficult seasons withclass, the way he put asidehis pride and ego for the goodof the team. Last season, helost the Penguins’ starting jobto Matt Murray because ofa concussion. Murray led theteam to the Cup. This season,Fleury was benched for Murrayduring Game 3 of the Ottawaseries in the Eastern Conferencefinal and never madeit back on the ice even thoughhis play had been terrific.Murray again led the teamto the Cup.
Fleurydidn’t take the snub thisseason well, but he never showedthat publicly. He refusedto be disruptive to the teamand refused to show any bitternesstoward Murray. Tothe contrary, he provided oneof the most memorable momentson the ice in Nashvilleafter the Penguins won decidingGame 6 when he hunteddown Murray to handhim the Cup.
It’s no wonder Jim Rutherford sent Fleury off to Las Vegas with this incredible tribute.
“He’s the best team player in sports.”
One of the best in Pittsburgh sports history.