Written by ESPN Staff at ESPN.com
Marc-Andre Fleury already is a champion. Now he’s a Golden Knight.
The veteran goaltender was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in their expansion draft, the results of which were announced Wednesday during the 2017 NHL Awards telecast. The announcement comes on the 14th anniversary of Fleury being selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 draft.
Fleury, who was on hand for Wednesday night’s ceremony, received the largest cheer from the Las Vegas fans, something that surprised the 32-year-old.
“I didn’t know that was coming,” Fleury said. “I was a little surprised by that. That was a warm welcome, and I’m getting excited about it.”
Fleury now goes from the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions to the desert expansion team.
“I’m not looking to be the face of much,” Fleury said when asked of being his new team’s star player. “I’m just trying to come and play hockey.”
His old team’s star player, Sidney Crosby, spoke glowingly of the netminder.
“He’s going to be so important for their team with his experience and the kind of person he is,” Crosby said after the awards show. “You couldn’t have a better guy.”
The Golden Knights’ selections were revealed in reverse order of their originating team’s regular-season standings, meaning the Colorado Avalanche’s player (Calvin Pickard) came off the board first, while the Washington Capitals’ pick (Nate Schmidt) was announced last.
With their first expansion draft picks, Vegas selected Pickard, a goalie, forwards William Carrier, Cody Eakin, Jonathan Marchessault, Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Nosek, and defensemen Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill and Luca Sbisa.
James Neal was the biggest individual name revealed in the second round of expansion announcements. The veteran forward posted 41 points for the Stanley Cup Finals runner-up Nashville Predators during the regular season.
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