The Chicago Blackhawks had the pleasure of having Marc-Andre Fleury on their team for 45 games played over the course of his 1051-game career. He helped make what turned out to be a rough 2021-22 season for the Blackhawks better. 

At the trade deadline of that season, the Blackhawks traded him to the Minnesota Wild, where he would finish out his days in the NHL. At the end of the 2024-25 season, Fleury played his last game before retiring. 

During the off-season, however, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that he would return on a PTO to play one preseason game so he could retire with the team where he became a legend. While in Pittsburgh, Fleury was a big part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams. 

That game took place on Saturday night in Pittsburgh against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He came in for the third period, didn’t give up a goal, and the Penguins won. They also allowed him to be the goalie in a shootout for entertainment purposes once regulation ended. 

He was saluted by the Penguins crowd, which is an organization that will always have him around going forward. Fleury’s legacy in Pittsburgh is right up there with some of the greats of every sport. 

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kristopher Letang played a key role in the celebration process, as those three helped Fleury form the winningest core in Penguins history. 

To say that the Penguins got everything they expected and more out of Fleury when they took him first overall in 2003 would be an understatement. The NHL and the entire hockey community are better for knowing Marc-Andre Fleury.

Next up for Fleury is the Hall of Fame. It shouldn’t take long to get him inducted now that his playing career is over. He will likely make it on the first ballot. 

Fleury will go out with his three Stanley Cups, a Vezina Trophy, a Jennings Trophy, a record of 575-339-97, 76 career shutouts, a 2.60 goals against average, and a .912 save percentage. Retiring on their own terms makes sense for a player of his caliber. 

Expect this to become a new tradition for all-time greats who may not end with their original teams. It’s a cool new idea that we’ve never seen before, but it won’t be soon forgotten as the first of its kind. 

Fleury actually got to play, and play well, with the Penguins one last time. It's a memory that will last a lifetime.

The Blackhawks were such a small part of his journey, but a part of it nonetheless. He deserves all of his “flowers” as he impacted so many people at every stop he made in a positive way. If there were a Hall of Humanity, he’d be in that, too. 

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a burgeoning issue on defense, but this new problem isn't one that's totally unsolvable.

Through four preseason games, the Flyers have yet to see a young defenseman take the reins and wrest control of an NHL roster spot, and the veterans they're competing with have done little to assure the coaching staff they're reliable alternatives.

Noah Juulsen, a free agent addition who played for Flyers head coach on Rick Tocchet on the Vancouver Canucks in past seasons, has made some big hits - one was penalized - but has done little else so far.

His pace of play, in particular, has not been impressive, and he looks very much like a player who is coming off a season-ending hernia.

Juulsen's biggest competition for a roster spot is prospect Helge Grans, but Grans, whose best attribute is his mobility, has been gashed with speed repeatedly in exhibition games. 

I expect the 23-year-old to get every opportunity to redeem himself as he must clear waivers to reach the AHL, but there is little to be inspired by in his handful of preseason games thus far.

Flyers Roster Battles Leaving Much to Be Desired Early in NHL PreseasonThrough three NHL preseason games, several Philadelphia Flyers roster battles look far from being decided any time soon.

Other players fighting for spots include Dennis Gilbert, Egor Zamula, Hunter McDonald, and Adam Ginning.

Gilbert, McDonald, and Ginning are all of the physical, shot-blocking ilk, can be mistake-prone, and offer little offensively. I've actually liked Ginning's defensive work, especially compared to his disastrous training camp outings last year, but he still lacks consistency, and reliability and upside are key factors when determining this roster.

So, where does that lead us? To one guy who's already being counted out despite clearly having the highest upside of the bunch.

The Flyers and Flyers fans aren't particularly enthused about the idea of having 5-foot-9 Emil Andrae on defense with Cam York and Jamie Drysdale already on the roster, but, like it or not, Andrae would be one of the six best defensemen on the Flyers' roster as things currently stand.

The 23-year-old played 42 games for the Flyers last season - with most coming under John Tortorella, of all people - scoring a goal, six assists, and seven points while averaging 17:21 of ice time.

Yes, Andrae suffered with inconsistencies, but he also played like a defenseman who at times looked to be a legitimate middle-pairing player with offensive potential.

According to Moneypuck, Andrae and Travis Sanheim played 108 minutes together, and their 62.5% expected goals percentage led all Flyers defense pairings with 100 or more minutes played.

Ironically, the third-best defense pairing under those parameters was Andrae and Rasmus Ristolainen (triceps), who held an expected goals percentage of 56.8%.

Flyers Training Camp: Nikita Grebenkin Continues to Shine as Roster Battles Get RealAfter three days, forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin has been the one constant in Philadelphia Flyers training camp, flashing his intriguing potential at seemingly every turn.

Can Andrae hold his own next to Sanheim or someone else until Ristolainen comes back sometime in October or November? I'd be willing to bet on that.

In comparison to Zamula and Grans, what's the point of having big defenders with size when they rarely use it to their advantage?

And for destroyers like McDonald, Ginning, Gilbert, and Juulsen, players like Juulsen, Vincent Desharnais, and Carson Soucy didn't exactly excel under Tocchet, and all three are playing for new teams this year.

Andrae's NHL experience already surpasses that of Ginning and McDonald and is more or less one full season off from Gilbert and Juulsen, who are both five years older.

The good thing, too, is that Andrae, unlike Grans, is waivers-exempt. If Tocchet gives him a try and decides it isn't working, the Flyers can simply turn to Ristolainen once he's healthy and send Andrae back to the AHL.

The Flyers have some decisions to make to remedy an untenable situation on defense, and opting for some familiarity and upside in Andrae would be a worthy short-term pivot until something more favorable shakes out.

After deploying his top-six against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on Thursday night, Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis decided to send a much less experienced group to Toronto. None of the members of the normal leadership group were on the ice, so Alex Newhook, Alex Carrier, and Arber Xhekaj all wore an alternate captain’s A on their jersey.

You Win The Game On The Ice

As silly as it may sound, a hockey game is won on the ice and definitely not on paper. On Thursday, the lineup led us to believe that the Canadiens were the favorite to win the game, but when all was said and done, the Leafs skated away with the win. On Saturday night, the roles were reversed with the Leafs sending out a more veteran-heavy lineup and the visitors keeping their number of regulars to a strict minimum.

Former Canadiens Forward Hits Waivers
Canadiens Lite To Take On The Maple Leafs Tonight
Canadiens: Another Camp, Another Lot Of Injuries

But it was the Canadiens who had the better opportunities in the first frame and who were the only ones to find the back of the net through Newhook with assists to Carrier and Zack Bolduc. Earlier in the frame, Oliver Kapanen also did well early on to create a scoring chance, but Anthony Stolarz would have none of it. After 40 minutes, Montreal had 18 shots to Toronto’s 13—an actual reversal of Thursday’s game.

Hutson Did It All

Lane Hutson was everywhere on the ice in Toronto. When each team had a man in the box, we were reminded of how mobile a defenseman he is and just how dangerous he can be with extra space. He’s quick, he’s shifty and deceptive, and he does what he wants on the ice.

Last year, he wasn’t shooting that much, but on Saturday night, he didn’t miss a single opportunity to take a shot. Through 40 minutes, he had already taken five of the Canadiens’ 18 shots. Just three minutes after John Tavares had brought the Leafs within one goal of the Canadiens, Hutson gave them their two-goal lead back on the power play. With fantastic poise, he walked in, picked his spot, and unleashed a quick wrist shot that found its way through Stolarz.

The Fight Isn’t Over

Kapanen, Owen Beck, Joe Veleno, and Samuel Blais, the players who are competing for the 12th and 13th forward spots, all had a pretty good night. Clearly, none of them wanted to be cut post-game, and they weren’t. The same cannot be said for Joshua Roy, however, who has had numerous opportunities throughout the camp but has not risen to the challenge.

The Canadiens may not have won 7-2, but they put on a dominating display, similar in every aspect but the final score to the Maple Leafs’ win on Thursday night. Montreal now only has two preseason games remaining, and the coach will likely want to ice as complete a lineup as possible. Fans attending the game against the Ottawa Senators in Quebec City can expect a near-complete lineup.

The Habs will enjoy a day off on Sunday before getting back to work on Monday morning in Brossard. They’ll also hold a morning skate in Brossard on Tuesday before travelling to Quebec to face Ottawa in the evening. St-Louis’ men will then have a day off in la vieille capitale, before holding two public training sessions on October 2 and 3. They’ll play their final preseason game on Saturday at the Bell Centre.

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