Penguins/NHL
PLAYER EXIT INTERVIEWS
The Penguins player exit interviews were this afternoon and the most interesting tidbit came from head coach Dan Bylsma when talking about goaltender Marc Andre Fleury. Bylsma despite showing no confidence in Fleury during the post-season, said today that Fleury is the Penguins No. 1 goaltender and franchise goaltender moving forward for this team.
“He’s our No. 1 goalie for this franchise and he will be moving forward,” Bylsma said of Fleury. “We were in a situation where Tomas Vokoun went into net won third and fourth games of series and continued to play in net…..Marc Andre Fleury’s a guy who’s going to come back to our team and he’s going to be our No. 1 goalie,” Bylsma said. “He’s going to be our franchise goalie, he’s going to be this franchise’s goalie.”
Bylsma went on to say that Vokoun’s backup role won’t change next season because Fleury is going to be in there winning hockey games for the Penguins. “Marc Andre Fleury is going to go back in net and he’s going to take the net and he’s going to be the No. 1 goalie and he’s going to play great and there’s no question about that and he’s going to win a lot of hockey games for this team next season. He’ll have that opportunity in the playoffs again when this team gets there.”
“Next year he’s {Tomas Vokoun} not going to get that opportunity because Marc Andre Fleury is going to be in net winning hockey games,” Bylsma said.
Fleury speaking today also expressed a desire in returning. “I like it here a lot and I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Fleury said.
More Buzz
*Bylsma said he has not had any conversations with GM Ray Shero about his future. Shero did not speak today and will meet with the media on Wednesday. “At this point in time I haven’t had conversations with Ray Shero about that,” Bylsma said….Stay Tuned
*Bylsma said Paul Martin played with a “significant injury” the last few games of the series. Martin said today that at this point he doesn’t need surgery.
*Bylsma on Jarome Iginla being used in a third line role and on the left side: “It was the best fit for our team, where Jarome was used.”
*If Bylsma returns, is he ready to give Simon Despres and Beau Bennett more prominent roles? Bylsma said Despres will be a top-4 defenseman for the Penguins next season and said Bennett will play on one of the top-2 lines. “Simon Despres were looking to see him in our top-4,” Bylsma said.
