Marc-Andre Fleury Extension

Today the Pittsburgh Penguins extended the contract of all-star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury by 4 years and a total of $23 million.
To many people this doesn't seem like a big surprise, but others find it a shock.
I've read many posts and comments today that are more in the shock column of responses than anything.
Here is one I read.

Ronnie Shuker ‏@THNRonnieShuker 3h3 hours ago

So the Pittsburgh Penguins re-sign Marc-Andre Fleury. Meanwhile, the city now holds the Guinness World Record for simultaneous facepalms.

That is just one of many posts on Twitter today that seem to slam Fleury and the Penguins for the signing. 
Some say he is overrated and I would have agreed until I saw this and then took a look at the numbers he has posted over his 11 year career (!!!!!) so far.

That doesn't show how good he has actually been.  He has a .911 career SV% and a .905 career playoff SV% and he is only 30 years old! Incredible. He boasts a 2.61 career GAA  (regular season) and has started in 540 games so far.
After reading these stats I find it hard to back up any statement that I have ever made saying he is overrated.  These numbers are very good and hard to maintain through an entire career as he has done.

His $5.75 M cap hit with this contract is manageable for the Penguins and seems to be fitting for him as well.  He possibly could have earned more on a free agent contract but he wouldn't have gotten the length I don't think.  He has been in Pittsburgh his whole career and has established himself as their starter year after year.
He has started in 60+ games every season since 2008/09 (excluding the lockout year where he started 33) and can handle the workload that has been handed to him over the years.
The only knock I can think of at this very moment is what about the playoffs??
Since the Penguins won the Cup, they have struggled to get back to that form and make a decent run deep into the playoffs.
Fleury hasn't stood up to the test of the playoffs all that well since the Cup run either. That is until last season.
His numbers came back up to where they should be for a playoff goalie and his form looked pretty good for the 13 games the Penguins played. But they (the team) haven't performed amazingly in the post season since 08/09.  Maybe the new coach this season will help that change and we will see the "March of the Penguins" once again in 2014/15.
All in all, this is a good signing for the Penguins. They get the goaltender they want in their net for and added 4 years at a decent cap hit, and they know they can rely (usually) on him to be the last line of defense.
Lets just hope that he doesn't do the "new contract flop" that we have seen some players do once they sign new deals.

Remember to get out and support your local minor league teams and players.
Like, Follow, Share and Comment on this post if you enjoyed it.
Thanks for reading.

Until next time.