Marc-Andre Fleury Excited for Return to Vegas

Marc-Andre Fleury was one of the biggest reasons hockey worked in Las Vegas. He was the star Golden Knight for four seasons and gave the franchise a face and did so with such class. Now with the Chicago Blackhawks, Fleury is as excited as ever to return to the Vegas strip on Saturday night.

His return to Sin City has been circled on his calendar and after putting the franchise on the map in 2017 can you really blame him? He led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup final their inaugural season and then went on to win the Vezina trophy in 2021 as the league's best goaltender. Such a shame the salary cap got in the way of him finishing his career in Vegas.

The 37-year-old netminder now finds himself on a struggling hockey club in Chicago and there's been some rumblings about him being moved once again to a Cup contender. For now, Fleury isn't worried about the trade buzz and is focused on catching up with some familiar faces:

I'm sure it will be similar. It brings back so many memories from my time there. It'll be good to see some of those old teammates and friends and staff from the team and stuff. The fans, right? They've always been very kind to me. So it'll be special.

Expect to hear a huge ovation for The Flower on Saturday night and even some of his ex-teammates know the goosebumps will be flowing when the crowd reacts. Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault had this to say about expectations:

I'm really looking forward to that moment after the video he's going to get. He built this city. He built sports in this city. He's the one who made us successful. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.

It's going to be a great site in Vegas as Fleury plays in his first game in Vegas since the four-year run came to an end. Expect to see a Vezina-type performance from the Blackhawks crease on Saturday night.  

Photo credit:  Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports