The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a four-year contract extension, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

The deal begins with the 2015-16 season and runs through the 2018-19 campaign, and has an average annual value of $5.75 million.

“I believe in Marc-Andre Fleury, as the team does,” said Rutherford, a former goaltender. “He’s won before and he will win again. We’re very pleased to have him signed long term.”

Fleury, 29, is off to one of the best starts of his career, posting a 7-2 record, 1.89 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and a league-leading (tied) three shutouts in nine starts. He has recorded back-to-back shutouts in his previous two starts for the first time in his career.

A 2009 Stanley Cup champion, Fleury is the Penguins all-time regular-season leader in wins (295), games played (540) and shutouts (31). His 52 postseason wins are second only to Tom Barrasso (56) in club history, while his eight playoff shutouts are a record. His 52 playoff wins are the most among active NHL goalies.

A native of Sorel, Quebec, Fleury is currently the longest-tenured Penguins player, having made his NHL debut on Oct. 10, 2003. Since then, he has put together six seasons with 35-plus wins, including twice registering 40 wins, with a career-high win total of 42 in 2011-12.

Originally drafted by the Penguins with the first-overall selection of the 2003 NHL Draft, Fleury is the NHL’s winningest goaltender the past four years with 111 victories, eight more than second-place Antti Niemi; and he is the winningest goalie the last seven years, with his 219 victories nine more than the next-closest player, New York’s Henrik Lundqvist.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Fleury currently sits five victories shy of becoming just the 31st goalie in NHL history to win 300 games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, when Fleury does reach 300, he will become one of the youngest goaltenders in league history to hit that milestone.

Fleury was named Team MVP in 2010-11 after helping lead Pittsburgh to home-ice advantage in the playoffs during a regular season in which both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin missed half the year. Fleury won 36 games and posted a career-low 2.32 goals-against average in 65 starts.

During Pittsburgh’s run to its ’09 title, Fleury went 16-8, including a dramatic save in the final seconds of the Cup-clinching Game 7 victory on Detroit’s Nick Lidstrom. That year, Fleury helped the Penguins clinch all four series on the road, including a pair of Game 7 wins.

Fleury also led the Penguins to the Cup Final in ’08, where Pittsburgh fell in six games to the Red Wings. That spring, Fleury posted a playoff career-best 1.97 goals-against average in 20 appearances.

Fleury has represented Canada internationally on several occasions, winning a gold medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics and back-to-back silver medals at the World Junior Championships in 2003 and ’04. He was named the tournament MVP and Best Goaltender at the ’03 WJC.



