~ New InGoal Magazine author Colin Hodd is a goalie coach and journalist based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He has a degree in journalism from St. Thomas University and has been covering a little bit of everything since 2011. He's been obsessed with goaltending ever since he saw Jose Theodore's backwards blocker save on Joe Thornton (if you know, you know). He still straps on the pads as much as possible, but hopes his students aren't watching.
Stories get flattened over time. I kept thinking about that while watching Marc-Andre Fleury’s farewell tour last season, and his farewell PTO with Pittsburgh in the preseason. The outpouring of love reflected a player whose obvious enthusiasm and acrobatic playing style made him easy to root for.
Last year he was described often as entertaining to watch. His old-guy status, still playing at 40, endeared him to those of us still strapping on our pads in the post-35 age bracket.
But Fleury was not just a loveable old guy who stuck around. He is nothing less than one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history. By numbers, inarguably. But also in the way his arrival in 2003 heralded a new era of goaltending.
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Not even close. Two of his three cups he had to watch as Matt Murray took them all the way there. He probably cost the Penguins more cups than he actually won in the playoffs.
He was a compiler who is getting a history rewrite due to the fact he’s had longevity and is a really nice guy.
Doesn’t touch Luongo, Price, Quick, Vasilevskiy or Lundqvist who he played against during his career.
The fact that he will get first ballot HOF and Carey Price didn’t is going to be a black mark on the hockey hall of fame for all history.