Long list of Fleury tales from all over

perhaps another way of welcoming one to the organization.

Young or old, former or current, there’s simply nothing like playing on the same team as Fleury.

“A great teammate,” Kris Letang said. “Always happy. Always ready to go.”

“Unbelievable,” Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban added. “Class act. Character guy.”

“I could go on and on about how great of a guy he is,” Cole said.

And that’s pretty much what happened Monday when the Penguins practiced at 11 a.m. at PPG Paints Arena, and Fleury’s new employer followed soon after.

The Fleury tributes and stories were many.

They were interesting, too. Players and team staffers laughed.

It was hardly the atmosphere of an early February game against a Western Conference team.

“He deserves every bit of recognition that he gets,” Murray said. “He’s an awesome guy and awesome goalie.”

Crosby, Letang and Cole loved Fleury because he was funny and approachable and kept the Penguins loose and laughing.

Murray’s take was different.

He envied Fleury and still does — for the longevity he has enjoyed, for his likability. Murray has also long appreciated Fleury for not hating him, for caring about him as a person and welcoming him into their goaltending union.

“That’s what everybody strives for — a long, Hall of Fame career like Flower’s had,” Murray said.

Crosby misses Fleury more than most.

They sat next to each other on flights and did so again Monday after everyone else cleared out, the former longest-tenured member of the organization chatting with the current one.

Crosby often can come off as polished or serious, but Fleury might be the only person capable of relaxing Crosby enough to get him to use the word “reek” while discussing stink bombs.

“They’re little glass things that you break,” Crosby said, providing a scouting report of sorts.

“They reek. I think he got at least four or five guys’ hotel rooms with those. He found a way to evacuate a floor of a hotel with those stink bombs. He had so many.

“That’s an example of how he kept it loose. That was a daily thing. There was something like that every day. You didn’t know who the target was, but he was going to find a way to get somebody.”

Maybe Crosby, too, somebody suggested.

“Yeah,” Crosby agreed. “I might hide my gear.”

In the opposite sense, there will be zero of Fleury’s current or former teammates hiding their adoration for him.

“He’s universally loved,” Cole said.

“Even when you’re not with him, I don’t know how many people this year said, ‘How much do you guys miss Marc-Andre Fleury?’

“He’s not here, but people are still talking about him with glowing admiration. I think that’s a great measure of the kind of energy and character that he brought, not only to this team, but the city.”