question for all hockey fans
 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=55750
<hr>
The 18-year-old Quebec league standout was the number one pick in the NHL Entry Draft this past June and has made quite an impression in training camp.



"He's played great throughout camp when he was in net," Lemieux tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He works hard, has a great attitude. I'm sure Craig [Patrick] is going to be talking to his agent soon."



"We're going to pursue it and see if we can accomplish it," added Patrick. "We'll do the best we can."



Fleury's agent says he has yet to hear from Patrick and says if a deal is done, it will probably come "at the last minute".



In four preseason games this year, Fleury has posted a 2.26 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.



The Penguins have until 3 pm Monday to sign Fleury to a contract otherwise he would have to be returned to his junior club in Cape Breton and would only be recalled to the NHL on an emergency basis.



Based on the performance-laden contracts of similar top picks in the NHL, Fleury can expect to sign a deal worth between $4-million and $5-million.

<hr>

so do you guys this M-A Fleury is NHL ready???

i would hate to see him get in there and look awful, but i do want to see him.

opinions?http://www.tsn.ca/images/stories/200...eury_50287.jpg

Yea i wanna see him play but i dont wanna see rookie mistakes

What can be wrong with it? Get the kid in there and get him some experience. I hate to say it because I like the Pen's, but it's not like they are going to be contenders this year no matter who is in net...

Down the road they will be better off for it if this kid is as good as they think he is...

He can only help this crappy team compete just a little better. Let him play.

With Mario and a decent supporting cast, the Pens are always a threat. He may be the key to the Pens making the playoffs. Goaltending is always the key to making a run at the Cup. Look at the Ducks last season. Let Fleury play.

well looks like fleury is going to be in the minors,
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp...37&hubName=nhl

why do rookies think they deserve all this money? they havent proved anything...maybe thats why the NHL lost 300 millions dollars last year....

He went home, The pens tried to low ball him on his contract. He is going to play Junior Hockey for $65. a week, and re enter the draft next year.

Somewhere surfing today, I saw where Mario was going to let Fleury stay at his house. He even made a joke about it saying that now he would have a live in babysitter!

Here is a clip from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Rookie goalie Marc-Andre Fleury still doesn't have a contract with the Penguins, but he has found a place to live if he gets one.

And he didn't even have to search through the classifieds.

Fleury has accepted an invitation from Mario Lemieux, the team's owner and No. 1 center, to stay at Lemieux's house in Sewickley while he adjusts to the area and professional hockey.

"It's tough for an 18-year-old to stay by himself all the time," Lemieux said. "Now that the [exhibition] games are done and we're just going to practice every day, I told him [Tuesday] that if he wants to stay at my house, he's welcome to."

Lemieux has done that for other young players -- he made a similar offer to goalie Sebastien Caron last season -- and joked that his motivation isn't entirely altruistic.

"He can take care of the kids, while Nathalie and I go out," Lemieux said.

It's questionable because the Penguins are desperate for any sort of help but by putting a player in the NHL too early, you are risking damaging their career (ie Alexandre Daigle) You need a strong cast that can help the kid out and help them develop. Unless this kid is a miracle worker (he did look awesome in the world juniors) I hope that Mario doesn't rush him. A back-up role would be good for his first year I think. Keeps the kid hungry for playing and still gives him experience.

Rick DiPietro is a good example of this because he's fighting for the starter up until this year because they're probably gonna hand him the reigns. This guy is supposed to be like the next big goaltender and he's been in the league for a few years now, as a back-up. He hasn't really proven anything but he's worked for it. Don't like this guy at all but I think he'll be fine in the NHL.

Probably a bad move to make him an NHL starter this soon, especially on such a bad team. Goalies tend to take longer to develop than other players, and getting shelled while he learns on the job won't help his confidence. It'd be a little irresponsible of the Pens to throw him to the wolves this soon, unless Mario is angling to make them as bad as possible for the next couple of years so they have a shot at getting Ovechkin and/or Crosby in the draft.

I don't pay much attention to the juniors...but honestly I can't think of to many goalies that make it right out of the box. Nabokov, Giguere, Chechmanek, Luongo all were backups before they bacame #1, maybe if he had some time in the minors he MIGHT make the team...but serously how much of a bad ass is this kid?

The problem is if Fleury sign with Pitts and there is a strike or lock-out next year, he won't be eligible to play in the minors, so he will waist a full season. If you ask for my opinion, they should return him to the juniors, don't waste everything and go with Caron as their first #1 goalie and get a solid #2. It's not like their going to content fot the cup this year, the're going to finish last anyway and aim for the first draft pick this year and maybe Crosby next year (projected #1 pick).