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Marc-Andre Fleury rewarded for career season at age 36

Updated June 1, 2021 - 5:29 pm

DENVER — One of the few holes remaining on Marc-Andre Fleury’s Hall of Fame worthy resume has been filled.

The Golden Knights goaltender is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a franchise icon twice over and a five-time All-Star Game selection. But the 17-year veteran never had been a finalist for the NHL’s premier goaltending award.

Until Tuesday.

Fleury was named one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, along with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Colorado’s Philipp Grubauer. NHL general managers vote on the award, which will be announced during the Stanley Cup semifinals or final.

Until then, the Knights will need Fleury to be at his absolute best as they try to get back in their second-round series against the Avalanche.

Colorado leads the best-of-seven series 1-0. Game 2 is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ball Arena.

“I never go into the season thinking I want to be a nominee or a finalist for the Vezina,” Fleury said. “My thoughts are always about winning games and winning in the playoffs, right? That’s always my mindset. I’m not looking for individual awards, but this is definitely very flattering and I’m honored to be among these guys.”

Fleury, remarkably, put together a career season at age 36.

He and teammate Robin Lehner won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL, making Fleury the first goaltender in history to earn his first individual award in his 17th season or later.

He did most of the heavy lifting for the Knights. He finished 26-10 and set career bests in save percentage (.928) and goals-against average (1.98). Both marks ranked fourth in the NHL among goaltenders with at least 10 starts. He was third in wins and shutouts (six).

Fleury finished the season on a nine-game winning streak. He moved into third place all time in wins (492), behind Martin Brodeur (691) and Patrick Roy (551), and a tie for 14th in shutouts with Roy Worters (67).

Fleury did all that after Lehner was the Knights’ primary starter last postseason. Fleury started four of 20 playoff games, prompting his agent, Allan Walsh, to post a photo on Twitter with the goaltender playing with a sword in his back before the second round. The sword was inscribed “DeBoer,” referencing Knights coach Pete DeBoer.

“You got to take your hat off to him,” DeBoer said. “He faced some adversity there last year. Instead of laying down, he showed up in camp and fought and battled and turned it into what I think should be a Vezina Trophy.”

Fleury faces stiff competition.

Vasilevskiy led the NHL in wins (31) and had a 2.21 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. He was second in goals saved above average (20.82), according to the website NaturalStatTrick.com.

Grubauer was third in goals-against average (1.95) among goaltenders with at least 10 starts. He was tied for first in shutouts (seven) and ranked second in wins (30).

Defenseman Zach Whitecloud still stumped for Fleury on Tuesday.

“There’s no guy that deserves it more,” Whitecloud said. “The way he plays, the way he comes to the rink every day, the way he plays with passion.”

Fleury has carried his incredible play into the postseason.

He’s third in goals-against average (1.71) and had a .931 save percentage in a first-round series win over the Minnesota Wild.

He will need to keep that up against the Avalanche, the NHL’s highest-scoring team of the regular season and postseason.

Fleury was 4-3 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .932 save percentage against Colorado. He was the only goaltender to shut out the Avalanche, and he did it twice.

The player in the other net has been hard to beat, too. It should make for a fascinating matchup the rest of the series as two of the three Vezina finalists square off.

“I don’t think that’s happened too many times, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Grubauer said. “It’s been a battle all season long with him, and he’s an unbelievable goalie.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.

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