It's not a rarity to see a player get a warm welcome upon his return to a city in which he won multiple championships, so it's not like the cheers and tears were some huge surprise. That said, speaking about Marc-Andre Fleury as if his tenure as a Pittsburgh Penguin was all sunshine and Stanley Cups does a disservice to peaks and valleys he endured in becoming beloved member of the franchise. We are in a world where the average hockey fan doesn't know what the hell he or she is watching on the ice and the goaltending position subsequently becomes the one that is far and away the easiest (i.e. laziest) to criticize. In said world, a first overall pick who - at one point - was best known for his postseason struggles doesn't typically put them in his rearview en route to reverence. Now granted, having a title-sealing save on his resume certainly helped his cause, but not nearly as much as proving his worth as a player, person, and teammate did. Marc-Andre Fleury is a three-time Stanley Cup champion. That label is both earned and well deserved, but what it fails to acknowledge is the selflessness he displayed in humbly conceding his crease to a younger player that was arguably - and is now statistically - no more talented than himself. Of course, it wasn't his choice to view the majority of back-to-back title runs from behind a bench, but the fact that he was able to do so with professionalism as well as significantly contribute when cold-called upon is a credit to his prioritization of his team's best interests over that of his own. Now more than ever, it's disproportionally difficult to become a universally admired hockey player when the only goals you are responsible for are the ones that end up behind you. Whether on the ice or off the ice, Marc-Andre Fleury was able to do just that in a fashion that had fans drawing up so many signs for a former player that you'd swear he was part of the main event at WrestleMania. Circumstances made him expendable, but there's nothing circumstantial about the undying love between Pittsburgh, the Penguins, and the player they first entrusted with shaping the future of their franchise. It's not often you can say that about someone whose bipolar play of the past from the most over-critiqued of position had him likely to be seen as a scapegoat, but the most resounding of applause proved that appreciation for 'The Flower' was in full bloom and his legacy is as golden as the crest he now wears across his chest.
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