Marc-Andre Fleury opens up about returning to face Golden Knights

Marc-Andre Fleury briefly rolled through the crease on his back at one point during Blackhawks practice Friday, a reminder of the acrobatic moves he routinely pulled off during four seasons at T-Mobile Arena.

Except this time, the goaltender dragged his weary body back onto his skates rather than popping up effortlessly as he’s known to do.

Fleury then turned over his right shoulder and let out one of those hacking coughs that starts deep in the lungs and sounds like a 1967 Ford Mustang revving its engine, the remnants of his recent stay in COVID-19 protocol.

“At first, I was pretty much always out of breath, trying to move around,” Fleury said. “But it’s getting better every day.”

If anything can help Fleury in his recovery, though, it’s the opportunity to play against the club that sent him packing in the offseason.

After a week’s worth of reunions for the Golden Knights, the most emotional was saved for last, as the former face of the franchise makes his highly awaited return Saturday with the Blackhawks.

Chicago interim coach Derek King joked that he wasn’t starting Fleury against the Knights, then admitted the goalie would chase him down if he didn’t.

“I think, in a way, I want to keep it business and stay serious and just worry about winning the game,” Fleury said. “But on the other hand, I had such a great time here and made many good memories. It might be hard.”

Fleury was an instant fan favorite after leading the expansion Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, and his philanthropy in the community helped make him one of the most popular sports figures in the city’s history.

Last season, he won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender. But with the Knights committed to Robin Lehner long term and desperate for salary cap space, they traded Fleury to Chicago in the offseason for a minor league forward who was released shortly after the deal.

“I would love to have him finish his career here,” owner Bill Foley said in July. “It’s unfortunate. If we hadn’t gone through COVID, the cap would have expanded and we wouldn’t have had a problem.”

Fleury’s camp added to the drama by revealing the Knights didn’t give the future Hall of Famer the courtesy of notifying him before the trade became official. The Knights countered that Fleury’s camp tried to sabotage any potential move by threatening that he would retire, leaving a bitter aftertaste to his tenure.

The Knights did not practice or hold media availability Friday to comment on Fleury’s return.

“I think it’s behind me, you know? Months ago, right, and I’ll always be grateful for my time here with this organization,” Fleury said. “But I’m fortunate the Blackhawks wanted me to play for them and continue to do what I love, playing hockey. I’m grateful for that.”

Fleury, 37, has endured a difficult season in Chicago, filled with controversy and distractions.

Coach Jeremy Colliton was fired in November with the team at 1-9-2, and the organization cleaned house after former first-round pick Kyle Beach filed a lawsuit against the club alleging he was sexually assaulted by a video coach in 2010.

Last month, Fleury became the third goaltender in NHL history to win 500 games, then tested positive for COVID-19 more than three weeks later. He was shelled for five goals on 25 shots Thursday in a 6-4 loss at Arizona in his second start after being cleared from protocol and is 9-11-2 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .907 save percentage.

“It’s been hard, been frustrating sometimes,” Fleury said. “I think everybody expected more out of us this season, myself included. It’s still a work in progress, and we just have to keep chipping at it.”

Fleury is in the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. His immediate future remains unsettled, too, since he could be attractive to contending teams in need of a three-time Stanley Cup winner at the trade deadline.

But Fleury’s beaming smile remains, and he continues to have fun in his 18th season.

Fleury admitted he was looking forward to facing Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault, one of the team’s most notorious trash talkers.

“I still love playing goalie, still love diving around, hanging out with the guys at the rink, on the road, in practice,” Fleury said. “It’s still a fun part of the game, but winning would make things definitely more fun, too.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.