Following an offseason full of speculation regarding whether the Penguins would retain Fleury for a 13th NHL season, he is focused on building off of one of his best regular-season performances. Although he was mostly relegated to a back-up role throughout the Penguins 2016 Stanley Cup run, Fleury's skill had not declined.
In 58 starts, Fleury went 35-17-6 with a career-low 2.29 goals-against average and career-high .921 save percentage.
However, Fleury sustained two concussions, the first on Dec. 14 and a second on March 31, which caused him to sit in the press box during Pittsburgh's first seven Stanley Cup Playoffs games.
When Fleury dressed for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Capitals, he sat on the bench and watched his then-21-year-old protégé make 47 saves in a 3-2 win. Murray's rapid maturation made him difficult to remove until he allowed four goals on 30 shots in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fleury came in to start the third period and stopped each of the seven shots he faced in a 4-3 loss. Two days later, Fleury got the chance to reclaim his starting role, but allowed four goals on 25 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5.
Murray was solid in a 5-2 win in Game 6 and never looked back.
Fleury, who hasn't started regularly since March, described his current condition as "a work in progress."
"I think when you have two, three months without playing, you feel like you have to start from scratch a little bit," Fleury said.