PITTSBURGH — It will indeed be a “full circle” moment, as Marc-Andre Fleury describes it, when the beloved goaltender takes the ice for the Penguins one last time Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Fleury, 40, will play one period of an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets before officially ending his 21-year NHL career.

The circle, however, won’t truly be complete unless the Penguins retire Fleury’s No. 29. That needs to happen sooner rather than later and really shouldn’t be a matter of debate.

It’s an easy call.

“One hundred percent,” said Penguins broadcaster Phil Bourque, who wore the same No. 29 decades earlier. “Like [Jaromir] Jagr, he will always be thought of as a Pittsburgh Penguin.”

Fleury is far more than one of the most adored athletes in Pittsburgh sports history, although that is obviously pertinent. More importantly, he is the team’s all-time leader in victories, saves, shutouts and goals-against average — the first three by a million miles — and was a key figure in two of their three Stanley Cup runs in the Sidney Crosby era.

In one of them, Fleury delivered the Penguins their Bill Mazeroski moment, thwarting Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom and the mighty Detroit Red Wings on a spectacular walk-off save in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was perhaps the most dramatic save in NHL history.

I wondered years later if Fleury had ever spoken to Lidstrom after the two unwittingly walked into hockey history together. His answer was classic Fleury.

“The only time I spoke with him was during the handshake line at the end of the game,” Fleury said. “But I can’t remember what he said.”

The opinion here is that Fleury was the single most important player in the Penguins’ second Stanley Cup run under coach Mike Sullivan, even though he was pulled in the conference finals and did not play in the Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators.

The Penguins would have been eliminated in the second round if Fleury hadn’t stolen a series against easily the best team they played that spring: the Washington Capitals.

Washington won the Presidents’ Trophy with 118 points and outshot the Penguins in every game of the series, including 38-18 in a Game 4 Penguins win. They could not crack Fleury, who stoned them on a 29-save shutout in Game 7.

That included a spectacular save on Capitals great Alex Ovechkin, marking the second time Fleury made a memorable Game 7 stop in Washington against a player who would become the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. He’d done the same eight years earlier.

Saturday’s event came about at the behest of Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, who broached the idea with Fleury months ago. Fleury, who spent 13 of his 21 NHL seasons with the Penguins, needed time to think about it and finally agreed earlier this month.

“I wanted to go back where it all began,” Fleury told NHL.com. “I see it as a wink to my past. I’ll wear the Penguins jersey one last time, and I’ll see some old teammates and friends again. It’s a way to come full circle.”

The announcement sparked memories of June 21, 2003, at the NHL draft in Nashville, when the Penguins traded up two spots to make Fleury their first No. 1 overall draft pick since Mario Lemieux in 1984. Lemieux had since become the team’s primary owner.

“We decided the best place to start building is in the goal,’’ then-Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said at the time. “This was perfect timing for us.”

Broadcaster Paul Steigerwald, like so many of us, won’t soon forget Fleury’s incredible debut, Oct. 10, 2003 at Mellon Arena. Playing behind a bad team, Fleury made 46 saves — many straight out of Cirque du Soleil — in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

“I remember seeing a video of him they put out for the draft,” Steigerwald recalled. “He looked unique in the way he played, how he held his glove. He was obviously extremely athletic. And then I called his first NHL game on the radio, when he made all those saves and stopped a player named Esa Pirnes on a penalty shot and the place went wild. He captured the hearts of Penguins fans literally on his very first night.

“It was obvious he was going to be a star.”

If it was love at first sight between Fleury and Penguins fans, their relationship, like all lengthy ones, had its ups and downs. Fleury endured a multi-year playoff slump after leading the ’09 Cup victory. Some wanted him gone long before he willingly joined the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL expansion draft.

Fleury, however, never let the bad times embitter him, whether it was fan displeasure or being displaced by rising prospect Matt Murray. He had a grace and humility about him. The ever-present, toothy grin never stayed down for long.

His nickname, “Flower,” was perfect for a guy whose presence invariably brightened whatever room he entered.

“You knew inside [that getting replaced in the playoffs] was killing him,” Bourque said. “But he never let other people see that and never let Matt Murray see that. He was the ultimate teammate.”

Tyler Kennedy could attest to that. He spent several years with Fleury.

“From the very first day he got here, Marc-Andre made it more enjoyable to come to the rink,” Kennedy said. “He was always smiling, always in a good mood, and that energy lifted everyone around him.”

Fleury was even polite to the media, offering an “excuse me” when he wanted to move past them and sit at his locker.

Bourque recalled a rare time Fleury snapped at a reporter — and immediately felt regret.

“The [media pack] had moved on to Sid or Geno, and I looked back at Flower, and I could see he was upset, shaking his head, that little voice talking to him,” Bourque recalled. “Well, he pulled [the reporter] out of the crowd and said, ‘Hey, listen, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have answered that way.’

“It was just layer after layer after layer with him. Some of the stuff I would hear that he would do to help people, whether it was financial or other things, it was always above and beyond. That’s what separated him, the way he represented the city and the crest on the front of that jersey. I mean, with Sid and Flower, have you ever heard a bad word about either?”

Only three Penguins have had their numbers retired — the late Michel Briere (21), Lemieux (66) and most recently Jagr (68). Fleury should be a lock to join them, but there is a different celebration to tend to first.

One can only imagine the decibel level when that familiar announcement rings through the building ...

In goal, No. 29, Marc-Andre Fleury.

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