pittsburgh post-gazette – sports

4/1/16 – PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE – SPORTS - RON COOK
FLEURY A TEAM, FAMILY MAN.
Marc-Andre Fleury had a
relatively easy day at the office.
He stopped 22 shots Thursday
night in the Penguins’ 5-2 win
against the Nashville Predators
at Consol Energy Center. It
gave Fleury 35 wins for the
seventh time in his career. Only
legendary goaltender Martin
Brodeur has more 35-win
seasons in NHL history.
Fleury’s real work didn’t begin until he went home after the game to his wife and two young daughters.
Now that’s a tough job.
Of course, it’s also a labor of love.
A new television commercial for Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC takes viewers into the Fleury home where he, clearly, is a
caring, loving father. He uses his goalie glove to change daughter Scarlett’s diaper and his hockey stick to push her dirty diaper
into the garbage. He later rocks Scarlett and tries to feed her with his water bottle.
“One thing I love about my husband, Marc-Andre, is how he separates hockey from family,” Fleury’s wife, Veronique, says in the
commercial. “Here at home, he’s just like any other dad …
“Well, most of the time.”
The spot might not get the national acclaim of Mean Joe Greene’s “Coke and a Smile” commercial, but it is absolutely delightful.
“Magee has been great to me and my family. It was easy to do,” Fleury said before heading home after this latest win. “But I didn’t
expect such a big thing around it. Make-up people. Hair people. It was all day. It was almost a 10- or 12-hour day.”
The creative advertising people earned their money with the 30-second commercial. They couldn’t have picked a better man than
Fleury. He is such a natural. His wife does a great job and the kids are adorable, but his personality and smile carry the spot.
CLICK TO WATCH
“I enjoy it,” Fleury said of fatherhood. “It’s something you really don’t know about until you get into it. It’s work, and when you get
a second one, it’s more work. But when you see them smile and happy, it’s priceless.”
Fleury’s daughters – Estelle, who turns 3 April 26, and Scarlett, 8 months – are too young to appreciate their dad’s hockey
greatness. But his teammates certainly do.
The Penguins are expected to give Fleury their highest honor today when their Players’ Player award is announced. It goes to the
teammate they feel best exemplifies leadership and teamwork – on and off the ice.