Fleury last of a dying breed

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This article was published 29/12/2023 (648 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nate Schmidt can only chuckle and shake his head when asked about the first time he met Marc-Andre Fleury when Schmidt was with the Washington Capitals.

“I was so mad at him,” Schmidt, the Winnipeg Jets defenceman, said Friday afternoon. “He was such a Caps killer for so many years, it was so frustrating. So mad at him in so many ways, but I had heard so many things about him, so I tried to keep an open mind.

“But he’s as advertised. And I think he’s even better behind closed doors.”

Fleury is expected to get the start for the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon against the Jets when he’ll attempt to move into a tie for second place in all-time victories (551) with Hall of Famer Patrick Roy.

The next player on that list is Martin Brodeur.

The Jets are hoping to prevent Fleury from reaching the historical achievement, but Schmidt has become great friends with the affable goaltender since their time as teammates with the Vegas Golden Knights and was quick to praise him when asked about his remarkable career.

That Fleury has 998 NHL regular season games on his resume to go with another 93 during the Stanley Cup playoffs is a testament to his dedication and staying power.

“I feel a lot of honour that I played with him,” said Schmidt. “He’s the last of that type of player. The last goalie that is really that sporadic, uber-athletic, pad-stacking, poke-checking, unorthodox nut job. He’s the last guy that does it. Kind of an end of an era.

“Whether he plays another year or not, I have no idea. But he’s the last line of that goaltender. He’s been so good for so long. It was fun to be a part of and I really enjoy him as well.”

Chosen first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003, Fleury is known as a notorious prankster, yet his reputation as a hall of famer is a calling card for the 39-year-old from Sorel, Quebec.

“He’s obviously been a fantastic goaltender for a very long time,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele. “A guy that works hard, you never hear a bad word about him. He’s a good heart and soul guy. A guy who battles for every puck. I’ve been robbed on many occasions by him.”

Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon also shared his admiration for Fleury, someone he met for the first time at Schmidt’s wedding a few years ago.

“Unbelievable person. I don’t think there’s one person in the hockey world that can say a bad thing about him — and that’s on and off the ice,” said Dillon, who faced Fleury and the Penguins in the 2016 Stanley Cup final when he was a member of the San Jose Sharks. “From his work ethic, to the effort and the time he puts into his craft. At the same time, you see all of the jokes and the pranks that he plays. He’s basically trying to find a way to have fun every day at the rink.

“I love his competitiveness, I love his passion and obviously, his abilities.”–Rick Bowness

“From someone that’s played against him now for a little bit, I have so much respect for him and his game. For players, as they get older and get into that part of his career, he’s still finding a way to be an important part of the Wild on that team. And for Vegas, he basically put that team on the map there. He really established that franchise’s identity. He was the backbone of that team. He always seemed to be the hardest worker and leading by example, a guy who has earned everything that he’s got.”

And he’s someone folks will treasure long after he hangs up his pads.

“I think it’s fantastic what he’s done throughout his whole career,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “He’s a worker and he’s a competitor. I love the fact that he has so much passion in his game and it’s every night. He dives in front of every shot, he tries to stop everything. I love his competitiveness, I love his passion and obviously, his abilities.”

Around the glass

File this one under the category of unexpected developments.

Yes, it may be hard to believe, but at age 50 the “Bulin Wall” is back. That would be goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who began his NHL career in 1993 with the Winnipeg Jets and went on to play 799 big-league games with five different teams for the next 21 years.

Khabibulin hung up his blades following the 2013-14 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, finishing with a 333-334-97 record, a 2.72 goals-against-average and .907 save percentage.

His nearly decade-long retirement came to a surprising end this past week with news Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo of the KHL had inked Khabibulin to a contract for the remainder of the year.

The Russian product, who turns 51 in a couple of weeks. has been serving as the team’s goalie coach and will be a third-string option. If the hockey gods have any sense of humour, they’ll find a way to get him in a game or two.

Not to be outdone, there was 44-year-old Roberto Luongo strapping on the pads and filling in at Florida Panthers practice this week. He has a front-office role with the organization but clearly is willing to take on other duties as assigned.

Someone better keep an eye on Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek. If the Boston Bruins are ever in a pinch, they do have former Jets netminder Bob Essensa currently serving as their goalie coach.

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Our monthly prospects report is still relatively hot off the press, appearing in Wednesday’s print edition, but there’s a notable development worth touching on.

Forward Colby Barlow, the Owen Sound Attack captain selected by the Jets in the first round of last summer’s draft, is expected to make his return from injury Saturday. He’s been sidelined since Nov. 8, so that’s a terrific development.

Barlow was on the radar for the Canadian world junior team, but a back injury dashed that dream. The 18-year-old has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 14 Ontario Hockey League games.

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Former Jets head coach Paul Maurice hit another milestone in his career this week, standing behind the bench for his 1,800th regular-season game. It was a good one, too, as his Panthers downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2.

Maurice, who hit the 1,801 mark on Friday night against Blake Wheeler and the New York Rangers, is on the cusp of passing Manitoba’s Barry Trotz (1,812 games) for second on the all-time list.

The 56-year-old, however, will need several more years on his resume if he wants to catch Scotty Bowman (2,141 games) for top spot.

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A tip of the Dump & Chase cap to Kris Letang, the Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman who did something no blue-liner in NHL history – a span of 106 years — has ever done this week.

A five-assist period, against the New York Islanders, is a first. Letang added a sixth helper in the third period for good measure.

The 35-year-old Letang is an easy guy to root for, considering he’s been twice sidelined during his career by a stroke. The first came in 2014, the second last year. The six-time All-Star holds numerous franchise records and seems to be getting better with age.

Letang has 23 points (three goals, 20 assists) through his first 33 games after posting 41 points in 64 games last year.

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Finally, we’ll “Finnish” things up this week by mentioning that Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho just had back-to-back four-point games on back-to-back nights – the first time that’s happened since Jeremy Roenick did it in 1999.

His incredible 24 hours took him from 499 to 507 career points, making him the 15th player for Finland to join Club 500.

However, he’s the fourth-fastest to get there (553 games), behind Jari Kurri, Teemu Selanne and Mikko Rantanen.

Selanne, the Jets legend, tops them all with 1,457 points. In terms of active players, only Aleksander Barkov (666, sixth all-time) and Rantanen (557, 11th) are ahead of Aho.

 

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg