Mike Prisuta: Are the Penguins Kidding?

Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, November 18, 2005

Are they kidding?

Marc-Andre Fleury stops 45 of 47 shots in Philadelphia and wins in overtime, and the Penguins respond by sending him back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton?

What would the Pens have done had Fleury pitched a shutout, banish him to Wheeling?

And what, exactly, is it they're trying to accomplish this season, one that was supposed to be about rebounding dramatically and rejuvenating fan interest and generating momentum for a new arena and, oh, by the way, competing for the Stanley Cup?

Apparently, there's a different agenda.

It was understandable when the Penguins opted to go with Jocelyn Thibault and Sebastien Caron in goal at the conclusion of training camp. There had been sentiment within the organization at the conclusion of last season that Fleury still needed a solid year as a No. 1 in the AHL, plus a minor-league playoff run as the No. 1 to resolve some lingering issues with his confidence, before his future as a franchise NHL netminder would be cemented.

And that's a tough nut for anyone to crack in the span of a training camp, particularly when a veteran team trades for a veteran backstop it considers a key piece to the puzzle.

But since then Thibault has been mostly inconsistent and injured. Although he's started to show signs of rediscovering his game of late, he has in no way performed at a level suggesting he should continue to be viewed as the Penguins' best hope in net, no questions asked.

Fleury, meanwhile, has been dazzling enough in the AHL and good enough in the NHL that he should at least have earned a shot to compete with Thibault for the No. 1 job at this point of the season, a critical one for a team that has managed just six wins through its first 20 games.
Fleury's performance against the Flyers on Wednesday night was spectacular, as inspiring and integral to the Penguins' gritty victory as Sidney Crosby's refuse-to-lose passion.

Fleury had NHL analyst and former NHL goaltender John Davidson raving.

Fleury had everyone else lucky enough to be able to reel in a signal from OLN on the edge of their seats.

Shipping him back to the bus league coming off such a performance is indefensible.

It also raises serious questions about the organization's commitment to winning.

In the long run, those questions will cost the organization more than Fleury cashing in his $3 million performance bonus ahead of schedule.

Not to mention what Fleury's absence might cost the Pens in the standings.
Thibault still may assert himself as the No.1 the Penguins thought he'd become all along. But the organization can't be certain.

Likewise, the Penguins can't be certain Fleury isn't their best option right now, as well as down the road.

Would it have somehow devastated the Pens to play Fleury one more time in Saturday night's rematch with the Flyers and then re-evaluate?

Fleury playing in Wilkes-Barre instead is absurd.

And it sends a disturbing message.

Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.