Fleury Emerges As Face Of Las Vegas Hockey Franchise With Three-Year Contraction Extension Through 2021-22
By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
His smile will be around Las Vegas for a while. And so will his goaltending duties at T-Mobile Arena.
Popular Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the 33-year-old NHL veteran who had lost his starting job with the Pittsburgh Penguins at one time before being picked by the VGK in the 2017 expansion draft, signed a three-year contract extension that will pay him an average of $7 million a year through the 2021-22 season.
The Golden Knights has marketed the expansion team by not singling out a star such as Fleury, but instead has focused on the brand and the team.
But as the Golden Knights advanced from round to round in the NHL playoffs, it was clear that Fleury had emerged as the face of the franchise.
In April, the Bellagio created a chocolate Fleury statue of the goalie in full hockey pads that was about five feet tall.
And as the Golden Knights advanced from round to round in the postseason reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, it was clear that Fleury has emerged as the team leader while his infectious smile, jokester ways and easy-going personality had endeared the goaltender into the hearts of Las Vegas fans.
Fleury has 404 wins in 737 games between Pittsburgh and Vegas, and Pittsburgh had picked Fleury with the first overall selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
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The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is the biggest one ever with all 30 NBA teams playing 82 games. And the international basketball footprint at the July 6-17 event at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion is impressive, too.
Team Red of the Chinese National program has been working out in Las Vegas with NBA teams such as the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.
And the NBA Summer Leaguye games have been airing all over the world on NBATV International, ESPN International, Tencent (China), BeIN Sports in France, BeIN Sports in the Middle East, Kwese in Africa, Videoland in Taiwan and Rakuten TV in Japan.
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Speaking of NBA Summer League, the 12-day Burning Man/Sundance/Woodstock of pro hoops attracts quite a few celebrities including Las Vegas boxer Floyd Mayweather. Summer league co-founder Albert Hall mentioned to local sports columnist/radioman Ed Graney that Mayweather gave an hour’s notice that he would need seats and that was enough time to accommodate the local boxer.
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Teams and colleges have distanced themselves from Papa John’s pizza founder John Schnatter, who admitted using a racial slur during a conference call. The Miami Marlins issued this statement to explain why it suspended its business relationship with the Papa John’s brand..
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