Cranberry Township, Pa. – There was a time when Marc-Andre Fleury would take days like Friday for granted. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, too.

Days when the four players most closely associated with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ run of excellence 2008-17 – an era in which they played for the Stanley Cup four times and raised it above their head in triumph three – would spend an hour competing against each other during training camp, gather for a picture afterward for whomever might stop by and think nothing of it.

Not this time. Not when it was the last time.

And it is, the second-winningest goalie in NHL history stressed, the last time.

Wearing a specially-made mask featuring various symbols of his 21-year career and the No. 29 jersey that may someday soon find itself hanging in the rafters at PPG Paints Arena, Fleury made it a point to drink in every last moment of his final practice as a professional ahead of a one-period cameo during the Penguins’ preseason game against Columbus on Saturday.

Skating onto the ice in front of several hundred fans who chanted his name and carried signs like “We Came All The Way From Canada To See You Come Home,” Fleury did what he did nearly every day of his two-plus decade stay in the NHL: he leaned into it.

There he was, theatrically flopping his signature yellow pads in an attempt to stop a Crosby deflection. There he was, laughing after robbing Letang with a glove save. There he was, making Malkin shake his head after turning the Russian star away from in close.

“That might be what I love the most (about hockey), just to be on the ice and have a lot of shots, see the guys a bunch (and) be able to chirp a little bit,” Fleury said afterward while sitting in his familiar corner stall inside the club’s dressing room. “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun for me.”

The 40-year-old officially retired from the NHL as a member of the Minnesota Wild in the spring but signed a professional tryout contract with the Penguins earlier this month after being approached by Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas, who wanted the future Hall of Famer to take one final bow in the city where he remains beloved nearly a decade since leaving in the 2017 expansion draft.

While the pathologically upbeat Fleury joked afterward he wished he had more stamina, for about 90 minutes there were flashes of the form – and the style – that helped the Penguins morph from the worst team in the league when he arrived as the top overall pick in the 2003 draft to two-time defending Stanley Cup champions when he left.

“It’s just the enthusiasm,” Crosby said. “I think the energy that he brings, it’s really unique.”

The franchise relied on that energy, particularly early on in Fleury’s 13-year stay. Wins were hard to come by in the early days as the Penguins poured the foundation of what came as close to a dynasty as the NHL allows in the salary-cap era.

Yet the losing and the pressure never seemed to get to Fleury. He simply kept moving forward. Six years after he arrived, the player universally known as “Flower” sealed the franchise’s third championship by making a diving stop of Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom in the waning seconds of Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup finals.

The save – an athletically unorthodox act of desperation that encapsulated his talent – cemented Fleury’s spot in Penguins history. And while he went on to have great success elsewhere, including guiding the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to the Cup finals in 2018 and winning the Vezina Trophy as the game’s top goalie in 2021, Pittsburgh was never too far from his mind. Or his heart.

Every return trip to the city where he came of age over the last eight years felt a little strange. Not just for Fleury but for a crowd thrilled to see him while simultaneously hoping he’d lose.

Those mixed emotions for all involved are gone now and his unexpected (if brief) return represents a full-circle moment not just for Fleury, but the Penguins.

While Crosby remains a force at 38, Pittsburgh is no longer a playoff fixture. Dubas is overseeing a youth movement that includes young goaltenders like Sergei Murashov, who wasn’t even born when Fleury made his NHL debut. Fleury spent a portion of practice kneeling alongside the 21-year-old Russian, listening and offering a little bit of advice.

Asked what that advice might be, one of the league’s notorious practical jokers just laughed.

“’You better try hard, I’m coming to take your spot,’” Fleury said.

Only, he’s not. Though he thinks his wife Veronique is “tired of him already,” Fleury has not had any second thoughts about stepping away from the game he played so passionately and so well for so long.

“I’ve found out there’s nothing else I can do. There’s nothing else I can do that will fulfill that hole, right, of playing hockey,” Fleury said. “But at the same time, I’m older, slower, more hurt, you know, a little more sore, and less flexible, less fast, maybe.

“Yeah, I think it’s time.”

Barkov could miss entire season with knee injury

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Florida captain Aleksander Barkov needed surgery Friday to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, injuries that will likely sideline him for the entire regular season and potentially the playoffs as the Panthers try to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov got hurt Thursday in his first official practice of training camp. He had surgery Friday and the Panthers said the typical timetable for recovery from such a procedure is 7-9 months.

At minimum, that would suggest he won’t be playing before the start of the playoffs. And it ends any chance of him representing his native Finland – as he hoped and planned – in the Milan-Cortina Olympics this coming February.

“He’s such a important person in that locker room,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Friday. “I think what we’re going to get to experience now is you’ll get to know some of the other leaders that we have in our room.”

Barkov was hurt 20 minutes into practice, doing a simple drill on a play where he took minimal contact.

“I know the idea is next man up,” Maurice said. “There’s not a next man for Barky’s skates.”

Barkov led the Panthers in assists last season with 51 and was second in points with 71 – then added six goals and 16 more assists in the playoffs when Florida won its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov has appeared in more than 86% of all Florida games, including playoffs, in his 12 NHL seasons. This is the first time he’s dealt with something that will likely keep him out for an entire season.

And now, the Panthers – who have been to the last three Stanley Cup finals and played more games in the last three seasons than any team in a three-year span in NHL history – have to navigate another missing star as the season approaches.

In addition to Barkov, the Panthers also will be without forward Matthew Tkachuk while he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle. There is no formal target for Tkachuk’s return; given the typical return-to-play timelines for such procedures, it wouldn’t seem likely that he plays in any games before December.

Since Tkachuk came to the Panthers in 2022, Florida has played only five games without either he or Barkov in the lineup – all last October, with the Panthers winning three of those five contests. And Tomas Nosek, who had a big role in last season’s run to the Cup title, is expected to miss considerable time with a knee injury.

“It’s going to be tough,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said when asked about the Barkov news Friday. “He’s our leader – there’s no replacing Barky. Everyone has to step up. There’s no replacing him, but it’s another challenge for our group. And we’re usually pretty good at overcoming challenges.”

Barkov is Florida’s franchise leader in many categories, with games played (804), goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals (84) and game-winning goals (52) among them.

Predators rebound after last year’s expensive flop

Nashville, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators spent big on signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei in a spree that made them one of the Stanley Cup favorites a year ago.

Then the Predators flopped in a season to forget.

They stumbled from the start and limped to the finish with the NHL’s third-worst record. The top pick overall in the entry draft was closer than a playoff spot, though the Predators couldn’t even hold onto their slot in the draft lottery slipping to No. 5 overall.

“What’s happened in the last year?” Nashville center Fyodor Svechkov said with a smile. “I don’t remember. Looking forward to this year.”

The Predators open the season Oct. 9 hosting Columbus and look like they’re simply running everything back hoping it’s different this time around. Few outside the team expect it to work now.

“We’ve proved the experts wrong two years in a row, and we’re hoping to make it three,” general manager Barry Trotz said.

Nashville did beat expectations in 2024 by making the playoffs. Then the Predators did it again last season with their expensive and spectacular bust.

Skepticism stems from Trotz keeping coach Andrew Brunette, a roster with a handful of aging stars and a now 30-year-old goalie Juuse Saros in the first year of a high-priced, eight-year extension. The Predators insist they are more than ready to move on and prove the lessons learned and the changes made.

“There was a lot of outside noise last year, and I think that’s toned down a little bit this year,” Stamkos said. “And if anything, we use that as some internal motivation to prove some people wrong.”

They struggled to score goals with only 214 – ahead of only Chicago’s 210 despite spending plenty of time with the puck in the offensive zone. They also didn’t defend well enough in front of goalie Juuse Saros enough as Nashville gave up 274 goals.

“We had a bad season,” said Forsberg, who scored 17 fewer goals (31) than the season before. “You don’t want to necessarily dwell on that too much. We’ve had enough time to digest that and move on.”

Forsberg had company

Two-time Cup champ with Tampa Bay, Stamkos had only 53 points despite playing all 82 games. Marchessault scored 21 goals – half of what he had his last season with Vegas. Skjei had a minus-24 rating with 14 fewer points than the season before with Carolina.

Trotz has said repeatedly he expects the veteran Predators veterans to play up to their own standards with Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei more comfortable in Nashville combined with simple pride.

There have been some other changes not nearly as noticeable that Trotz and the Predators are counting on.

Brunette talked with the leadership group and a number of other players before the coach and his assistants tweaked the schemes and systems trying to better fit Nashville’s talent. Assistant Todd Richards was replaced by former Chicago head coach Luke Richardson to focus on defense.

Trotz has been busy refilling the prospect pool drained from so many trades chasing a return to the Stanley Cup Final since Nashville’s lone appearance in 2017. Nashville wants young forwards like Brady Martin – the fifth overall draft pick in June – to earn roster spots and bring energy and enthusiasm.

“We got bigger, and we got about on average about four years younger,” Trotz said. “And that bodes well for the now and it bodes well for the future.”

Still, how the Predators fare this season will depend on 2024’s trio of free agents along with Forsberg and captain Roman Josi now healthy after being diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, known as POTS.

“You can only go as far as your core,” Trotz said.

Marchessault criticized Brunette’s offensive system after the season ended in April. The 35-year-old forward recalled missing the playoffs one season only to come back rested and energized, which he hopes the Predators do now. He calls it a step backward to take two forward.

“I’m just excited to play hockey this year,” Marchessault said. “I’m excited with the group we have and less expectations. And, sometimes that’s good for teams.”

Forward Erik Haula wanted to sign with Nashville this offseason sensing the Predators’ frustration at how last season went. He said those seasons build character and camaraderie in a locker room. It also has provided extra motivation.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a guy in the locker room who wants to feel the way that they did last year, and nobody’s giving this team much of a chance,” Haula said. “So, we’re going to embrace that challenge.”

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