Hall of Fame Goalie, Hall of Fame Prankster

When Marc-Andre Fleury was on the ice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex with his old friends on Friday, representatives from Tint World were out in the parking lot, adorning the vehicles of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang with the number ‘29’ and flower decals.

Fleury claimed to know nothing about what happened, saying, “I was here practicing! I had a little bit of giggles to see it, though. I’ll ask guys to see who did it and get an investigation. I’ll get on it.”

It really is amazing that for over 20 years, Fleury kept his teammates on their toes with his shenanigans, which have ranged in scale.

“He always finds new ways to come up with new things. I don't know how he does it,” Crosby said. “I think it’s even more impressive that there’s no proof. It seems like there’s no footage of how he gets away with it. We know it’s him, but we don’t really have any proof besides the 29 on my door. But other than that, nothing.”

Malkin was the first to head outside, and “when Geno came in screaming, I kind of knew that something was up,” Letang said with a laugh. “I knew that I wasn’t going to be spared.”

But if Crosby’s being honest, he actually kind of likes the new décor, joking that he might keep it.

“I was expecting worse. I saw the paint job and I thought, ‘what’s inside?’ And then there wasn’t anything,” Crosby said. “It was pretty good, could’ve been a lot worse. I think he took it easy on us.”

That’s because Crosby watched what Fleury did to former Penguins strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar, who, funnily enough, was actually at Saturday’s morning skate with his son’s hockey team. Years ago, Fleury filled Kadar’s vehicle with packing peanuts.

“Seeing him stand on the roof of a car and pile those things into the sunroof will be forever ingrained into my mind,” Crosby said.

For Fleury, his favorite prank got inspiration from one Ryan Malone played during one of his first years in the league. He then executed it himself with teammates Brent Johnson and Matt Cooke lending a hand, and the HBO 24/7 cameras catching Ben Lovejoy and Mark Letestu returning to the team hotel to see their room emptied.

“Just to take all the (beds) and nightstands and frames and put it by the elevators. I loved the idea,” Fleury said. “But you need some help. You need an accomplice. Someone that helps.”

These past couple of days, Fleury has had one: son James.

“He’s a little bit of a jokester of the house. He likes to make us laugh and stuff,” Fleury said. “That’s maybe part of being a third child, trying to stand out. He was happy. He had some of those little toys and happy to try to get the guys with something.”

The 6-year-old worked out of his ‘bag of pranks,’ putting a rubber snake in the bathroom; a fake cockroach in his dad’s pads and tape; and best of all...

“I think he had a fart machine in the back of my stall,” Crosby said with a laugh. “It was set up, but I don’t think it worked. He had little rubber bugs and stuff. That’s to be expected.”

“I think he watched too many videos of his dad doing it!” Letang quipped.

Letang personally enjoyed when Fleury hung teammates’ clothing from the rafters at PPG Paints Arena, another prank that required some serious effort and a little assistance. Fleury did it to Justin Schultz, with the words ‘New Guy’ written on tape, and then-rookie Bryan Rust.

“I remember coming out on the ice and seeing stuff up there. I didn't realize it was mine until I had already done a lap and I saw somebody put ‘Rust’ on the back of my jacket,” he said with a laugh. “But it was fun. I think it was kind of a ‘welcome to the league’ moment for me.

“Obviously, I didn't really know who it was at first, and then as time went on, I realized it had to have been Flower. He may never admit it, it may not have been him, but I'd put heavy odds at on it being him. It was just part of his charm. You knew you were part of the team.”

Fleury said that while he’s become the main culprit associated with pranks, when he first came into the league, everyone was doing them.

“It’s just how it was. There wasn’t many days I didn’t have holes in my socks or my underwear or my tie wasn’t cut, you know what I mean? It was just normal. Every day something was happening and we had good guys that maybe I learned from... [laughs] I think we spent so much time together, with the hotels, the plane, the bus, the rink. It’s a good way to keep things light and have some laughs.”

Fleury certainly became a Hall of Fame prankster in addition to a Hall of Fame goaltender.

“They're all funny,” Letang said. “I think it's a way of having fun at the rink, and sometimes bring the atmosphere. Sometimes it could be tight in the room with different guys. So, I think it's a way to bring different energy inside the room, making sure that we’re enjoying what we do every day.”

“He's a funny guy, for sure,” Malkin said. “We know he’s a nice guy, a nice teammate. He never tried to be a bad guy. He's always fun and it was always cool stuff.”