Graney: Bond between Knights fans, Fleury unbreakable years later
He remembers the first game. The unfathomable sadness that defined it. The instant connection between a town and a team. He remembers all of it.
“Everybody in the building, on the team, around the city, stuck together during those tough times,” Marc-Andre Fleury said. “Those were some crazy times. But I think the bright side that year was the playoff run to a (Stanley Cup) Final against Washington.
“The journey to get there was a lot of fun.”
Fleury skated across the T-Mobile Arena ice for perhaps the final time Sunday night. The former Golden Knight goaltender, now with the Minnesota Wild, has said he will retire at season’s end.
Who knows. The Wild and Knights are both headed toward the playoffs. Who knows if they won’t eventually be matched up against each other. Who knows if we won’t see Fleury here again.
He didn’t play in Minnesota’s 4-1 loss against the Knights. Fleury was instead in net for a 3-1 victory at San Jose on Saturday, when he made 36 saves against the Sharks.
Face of franchise
But Fleury spoke before Sunday’s game about his four years in Las Vegas. About being the face of an expansion franchise that began play in 2017 around the same time a city had its collective hearts ripped apart by the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival.
It started a relationship between Fleury and a fan base that arguably has no equal in Las Vegas sports history. Folks loved the team and became wholly invested in him. They followed and cheered his every save to amazing levels.
Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon called Fleury the most popular player he had ever seen in sports the day Fleury was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021.
“Just the way the (fans) welcomed myself and my family,” Fleury said. “Nobody really knew how hockey would do here in Vegas. Obviously, (Knights owner) Mr. (Bill) Foley had a great vision. From that first practice on, the rink was always full. People turning out every night, every game. It was a lot of fun to start at the bottom and be part of those teams.
“There were a lot of questions. Would we win many games? Are people going to like it? But things turned out great for the organization. A lot of players want to come play here. You see how successful they’ve been.”
The Knights at some point should retire his jersey. Shouldn’t even be a question. He meant that much to the beginning of all this. He played a major part in the formation of a hockey culture in Las Vegas in just four years.
“I have great memories of this place,” Fleury said. “When my career was going down a bit in Pittsburgh and I wasn’t playing as many games, this team gave me a second chance. I’ll always have good memories of it.”
And now he can see the end, perhaps a final deep playoff run ahead, a Hall of Fame career that will have included his time in Las Vegas. A time unparalleled when it comes to how a community responded to him. How it adored him.
But that was then. This is now.
And he’s happy at age 40. He’s content with how things have gone.
‘Very fortunate’
“It’s never easy to change teams and start somewhere else,” Fleury said. “I have been lucky to have kept playing this long. I found a great organization (in Minnesota) and (get) to play with great teammates. We love Minnesota. Great place to live and raise kids.
“I feel very fortunate.”
And yes, Las Vegas was fortunate to have him.
He skated off the ice during warmups Sunday to what was once a familiar chant around these parts:
Fleury! Fleury! Fleury!
The same occurred when he was introduced during the first period. When he stood and pounded his chest and waved to the crowd. The chant rained down again as the game’s final seconds ticked away.
They still hold signs in his honor. Still wear his jersey.
Still show how much he means to them.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
