So, how’s it going after that game last night? Right, moving on …
Nostalgia is just about all the Penguins have going for them right now. So maybe it’s not the worst thing to lean into the Marc-André Fleury of it all one last time.
Last night, he turned back the clock a few times in his final start in Pittsburgh.
That second period, uh, flurry — detailed nicely by colleague Michael Russo in this story — was like Mick Jagger returning to the stage for the Rolling Stones after Keith Richards sings his songs — the point in every Stones show when an older Jagger jumps into a time machine and plays the hits.
FYI, not all Jagger impersonations are great:
Behind the scenes @penguinslive. @armdog looks on as @Real_RobRossi does the ol “ordinary mongrel cat.” pic.twitter.com/CcOHKFhQOG
— Brian Metzer (@Brian_Metzer) October 30, 2024
Anyway, watching Fleury in the second period last night — and again late with what we’ll call a Reverse Lidstrom save when the game was in the balance — reminded me of a great Stones show.
Unfortunately, watching the Penguins lately is like listening to the Stones’ albums after “Tattoo You.”
It’s the same band. But it’s also not the same.
They said it
“Enjoy your lap.” — Fleury, on what Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang told him after he was announced as the No. 1 star last night
Classy of Crosby and Letang to stay on the ice after a loss to have a final farewell with Flower – props to the @penguins fans. Really cool moment.
(🎥 @Real_RobRossi)
pic.twitter.com/at6UzmHGKv— ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ (@Arda) October 30, 2024
Fleury did well not to burst into tears a few times before and during the game but failed miserably after. He seemed to take that moment for all it was worth.
Good on him.
Good on Penguins fans for serenading him with chants of his surname one last time, too. The love was always genuine.
Storytime with Rossi
Every so often, I’ll pull back the curtain to show what life is like for a beat reporter.
Today, let’s dial it back to the Penguins’ trip to Stockholm, where they opened the 2008-09 season with a couple of games against the Ottawa Senators. Several days into that trip, a sleep-deprived Fleury greeted me in the dressing room and noted that my equally fatigued self “looked like s—.”
I gave him the middle finger.
We both laughed how two people do when they’re too tired to know better. After the trip, back in Pittsburgh, Fleury gave me the middle finger following a morning skate at Mellon Arena.
I was puzzled, but he explained how exchanging middle fingers could be our inside joke.
“People will think we are mad, but it’s just saying hi in a bad way,” Fleury said. “It’s not F you, but how are you?”
After answering his last question from reporters last night at PPG Paints Arena, I approached Fleury with a middle finger. He bowed his head in laughter, placed his left arm around might right shoulder, and we both smiled.
Adieu, Marc.
Fleury acknowledges the crowd last night. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
Touch passes
• Say what you want about how NHL rules are enforced, but the league is adamant that players who leave the bench to fight get punished. That’s what Jack St. Ivany did in the second period last night. Though he’s a first-time offender, St. Ivany receiving at least a one-game suspension shouldn’t surprise anyone.
• It sure sounds like Bryan Rust received the best news possible — at least given the likeliest options — with his lower-body injury. He is week-to-week, but the Penguins were prepared for a grimmer prognosis when Rust went to get examined yesterday.
Don’t miss
• If you’re reading this, you surely love hockey but probably aren’t loving Penguins Hockey lately. That’s fair.
Thankfully, there is more to hockey in Pittsburgh than the Penguins.
The PWHL is open to expanding by up to two franchises as early as 2025-26, Hailey Salvain reports.
Consider me excited, because the PWHL was awesome in its inaugural season. Also exciting: The Penguins want to be part of the mix.
There’s a catch. As Hailey and I reported last summer, the PWHL’s model doesn’t include individual ownership of franchises. Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Penguins, would like to operate its own women’s team.
In any case, FSG sees the benefit of Pittsburgh having a PWHL franchise. Expect the Penguins to push hard for one of those potential expansion teams.
• Jonas Siegel posited an intriguing question about the Toronto Maple Leafs’ recent signing of Jake McCabe. And if you swap Penguins for Maple Leafs, it’s a question that perhaps needs to be considered in Pittsburgh — at least regarding impending unrestricted free agent Marcus Pettersson.
How many veteran defensemen are too many?
Actually, let’s go in a slightly different direction, shall we?
If you feel inclined, drop into the comments section and make the case for keeping or trading Pettersson.
(Top photo: Joe Sargent / NHLI via Getty Images)
