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The Pittsburgh Penguins believe teen goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is ready for the NHL and showed that trust Monday, signing the top overall pick in the 2003 draft.
Terms of the contract were not released, but by signing Fleury before Monday's 3 p.m. EDT deadline, the Penguins will have the 18-year-old in uniform for their regular-season opener Friday against Los Angeles.
If he had not been signed, Fleury would have had to return to his junior team, Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
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"Marc-Andre is an exceptional young talent and we're happy to have him
under contract," Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said. "He
is an integral part of our future here in Pittsburgh." Ticketmaster
The Penguins traded up two spots on draft day to make Fleury the second goaltender ever taken with the top overall pick. It marked the first time Pittsburgh had the No. 1 overall pick since 1984, when it chose Mario Lemieux, the team's current owner and captain.
Fleury played in four of Pittsburgh's seven exhibition games and had the best goals-against average (2.26) and save percentage (.923) on the team.
"Marc-Andre is one of the best young goaltenders I've seen in a very long time," Lemieux said. "He was very impressive during training camp and during the preseason and we look forward to having him as a teammate."
Fleury and Sebastien Caron will likely split time in goal for the Penguins this season, with Jean-Sebastien Aubin likely headed down to Wilkes-Barre of the American Hockey League. Ticketmaster
Pittsburgh sent right wing Mikael Samuelsson, the third overall pick and a second-round selection to the Florida Panthers for a third-round pick and the right to select Fleury.
Fleury backstopped Canada to the silver medal with a spectacular performance at the World Junior Championships, leading the tournament with a 1.57 GAA and finishing third with a .928 save percentage. Ticketmaster
Last season with Cape Breton, Fleury posted a 17-24-6 record with a 3.36 GAA. He posted a 55-51-16 record with a 3.28 GAA and four shutouts in three seasons with the team.
Rick DiPietro was the first goaltender to be selected No. 1 overall in the NHL draft - going to the New York Islanders in 2000.