Wild Penguins Day: Lizotte, Nieto Update; Fleury Prepares for Goodbye

The Pittsburgh Penguins are dealing with a winless four-game road trip and a five-game winless streak. Captain Sidney Crosby discussed trying to find his game after struggling through the first 10 games, but that was the least of the Penguins news Monday, including the preparation for the final Marc-Andre Fleury goodbye.

Fleury was the Penguins’ franchise goalie and the first cornerstone of what became their championship core which included Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. Former Penguins general manager. Craig Patrick swung a draft day deal in 2003 to move up from the No. 3 spot to the first overall pick so they could select Fleury.

Fleury, 39, is in the final year of his illustrious career. He received many accolades and goodbyes last year, including a special painting presented to him by the Penguins in a private ceremony on Fleury night in Minnesota. Still, the goalie came back for one more year.

Unless the Penguins meet the Minnesota Wild in the Stanley Cup Final, this is likely Fleury’s last visit to Pittsburgh as a player.

“It’s always weird coming back and being on the other side. I can’t say I’ve had my best games here playing against them, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m lucky to have a couple of days in town now, so it’s good to walk around a bit, see some old faces–well, not old –they’re all the people I haven’t seen in a while … so, it’s always special coming back.”

No one present for his return with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 will ever forget it. Despite detractors throughout his time in Pittsburgh, his three Stanley Cup rings and effervescent personality defeated any lingering negatives. As fans chanted his name and the tribute video played, Fleury had to skate from the net to wash the tears from his eyes.

Fleury’s daughters weren’t old enough to remember his Penguins career. Some of that changed this week.

“They’re a little older now and understand. The girls were born in Pittsburgh, right? But I guess we never came back to show them around,” Fleury said. “So they’ll be with my wife, so that she can show them a bit and bring them to the game to (so they can) see what it’s all about. Playing here, I think you can see, I get the fans up into me over the years, so they’ll get to see what it’s all about.”

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“It’s tough to pick one moment or one thing, right? I think there are so many good moments and tough ones,” Fleury said. “The welcome I got here for my first game and my first training camp was unbelievable, right? Sometimes, I had tough times, and I felt like the crowd was there for me to cheer me on and to keep going, keep pushing, and getting better.”

Fleury has 562 wins, which is second all-time. He trails only Martin Brodeur (691) in NHL history.

Penguins Injuries

Remember Matt Nieto?

Nieto signed a two-year, $1.8 million deal on July 1, 2023. However, he suffered a knee injury in early November after just 22 games and hasn’t played since.

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Nieto has gone through multiple knee surgeries during his short Penguins tenure but was cleared for contact Monday and rejoined Penguins practice as a full participant.

“It’s huge. You know, I’ve only been skating for about 6 or 7 weeks now, and prior to that, it was all off the ice stuff and rehab,” Nieto said. “Yeah, it was a long time of some boring stuff in the gym. And I’m happy to be back skating now. Happy to be back with the team and at the next step in the process here, but excited to keep progressing.”

It’s been nearly a year since Nieto joined the team in official on-ice work. He was close to returning last January but suffered a setback.

Blake Lizotte

The Penguins signed Lizotte to a two-year, $1.8 million deal on July 1, 2024. He showed well in training camp but was the victim of bad luck in the preseason Kraft Hockeyville game. As he sat on the bench, an errant puck struck him in the head on the first shift of the game.

Lizotte suffered a concussion and hasn’t been with the team since. However, he joined the practice on Monday in a non-contact sweater.

As reported earlier on Pittsburgh Hockey Now, Bryan Rust was absent from practice and is being evaluated for a lower-body injury.