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Marc-Andre Fleury views his professional life differently since silencing many critics last season by backstopping the Penguins to the Stanley Cup.

"No matter how good your stats are or how you rank goalie-wise, it's where you are at the end," Fleury said Thursday before the Penguins chartered a luxury bus to Columbus for an exhibition game against the Blue Jackets.

A week from opening his sixth season with the Penguins and only two months from his 25th birthday, Fleury is no longer a blossoming flower. Winning the Stanley Cup has solidified his standing as a rock - one the defending champions plan to lean on 70 or so times during the regular season.

He has made more than 60 appearances just twice, including 62 last season, and has missed parts of nearly four full months the past two campaigns because of lower-body injuries.

Still, Fleury proved himself ready to be a workhorse with 53 appearances in the final 55 games last season - including 19 consecutive from Feb. 3-March 4 and all 16 playoff contests.

"Last year, maybe I showed the coaches that I can play good when I play a lot," he said.

Fleury's coaches aren't the ones who need convincing of his worthiness. Penguins goalie coach Gilles Meloche has witnessed Fleury's clutch ways of the past three seasons: a 31-18 playoff record and 34-7-5 mark with a 2.13 goals-against average and four shutouts after March 1 since 2007.

With those statistics, Fleury would seem a sure bet to play for Canada men's hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

He isn't, though, might not even make the squad as a No. 3 goalie without a strong statistical start to the regular season.

"I'm sure that's something on his mind," Meloche said, noting Fleury's 3-1 record in Stanley Cup Final elimination games. "We want to make sure he gets off to a good start this season so he can have a chance at that Olympic team."

Fleury is one of several Canadian goalies competing for the presumed No. 3 spot on the Olympic roster. Roberto Luongo of the Canucks and NHL all-time wins leader Martin Brodeur of the Devils will likely battle to determine a starter.

Brodeur, 37, is Fleury's boyhood idol, a three-time winner of the Cup with four Vezina Trophies as the league's top goalie. He also is without a playoff series win since 2007 and finished his most recent postseason run by failing to protect a one-goal lead at home in the final 80 seconds of a Game 7 first-round loss to Carolina.

Luongo, 30, has, like Fleury, never won the Vezina Trophy or a GAA title, though he did pace his peers in save percentage in 2003-04 - the final season before post-lockout rules were instituted to open up the game. He is 11-11 over two playoff appearances in his career.

On his way to a 30-14 playoff record over the past two postseasons, Fleury has gone 10-3 after a loss and 4-1 in elimination games.

ESPN.com national hockey columnist Scott Burnside is one of just a few members of the hockey media backing Fleury to be Canada's starter.

"It's easy to get seduced by Brodeur's historic performances and the concept that Luongo is the best goalie in the world, but the idea that Fleury is not the most clutch goalie for Canada doesn't make sense," he said.

Fleury can live with whatever comes his way if the trade off is another Cup.

"Nothing can beat that," he said. "Not stats. Not people saying things about you. Not honors. What matters most is to win that thing. I know."

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