Normally-reserved Fleury bringing some light-hearted fun to Blackhawks

Watch out and stay on your toes.

Every Blackhawks player would do well to heed that advice now that known prankster Marc-Andre Fleury is on the roster.

Be careful before taking a drink out of that water bottle. Is the cap actually screwed on?

Be mindful on the road. Your bed and nightstand may have made their way to the elevator.

And be careful what you say. A riotous one-liner may be just around the corner.

As good as Fleury is on the ice - he won the Vezina Trophy last year as the league's best goalie - he may be even better when it comes to keeping things loose and reminding everyone that it's best to have fun while at work.

"There are 20, 25 guys in the room, so there's never too (much) intelligent conversation in there, right?" a smiling Fleury said after practice Friday. "You got to keep it light. I feel like if we have fun, if we feel good and we're relaxed that's when you play your best hockey."

Building that chemistry begins immediately, so even in training camp guys like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat would be well advised to watch their backs.

And their bags.

"We did a team trip to Montana in the preseason and he went in all the rookies' (hotel) rooms and turned 'em upside down," said forward Ryan Carpenter, who was Fleury's teammate in Vegas for 1½ seasons. "The bed was upside down, my suitcase was hidden and clothes were somewhere else. ...

"He comes to play and compete, but he has a ton of fun at the rink too. It's contagious when you have guys like that in your locker room."

Another of Fleury's classic pranks came when he crawled inside the bag of Pittsburgh forward Colby Armstrong. As Armstrong unzipped it, Fleury popped out, sending the flabbergasted Armstrong reeling backward.

While outwardly quiet and reserved, Fleury also rarely passes up a chance to get a laugh. A perfect example came Friday when a Blackhawks PR person accidentally turned off the lights in the interview room.

While in the middle of answering a question, Fleury paused and deadpanned: "Last call, right?"

Hilarious.

What's deadly serious, of course, is Fleury's competitive drive. He hates getting scored on, whether it's in a game or in practice.

We've already seen that in training camp as Fleury slammed a puck against the end boards after Patrick Kane beat him Thursday. Two days later, the 36-year-old kicked a puck into the netting after a puck got by him.

"That's what you want to see out of your goalie," said defenseman Seth Jones. "He's going to battle on second or third pucks around the net when he doesn't even have to in practice."

Said Carpenter: "He's one of the nicest guys in the locker room and everyone loves him, but then on the ice he's a savage."

There's little doubt Fleury is going to make the Hawks a better team. Not only has the three-time Stanley Cup winner won a whopping 492 games, but he seems to get better with age. In four years with Vegas, Fleury went 117-60-14 while posting a .917 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average. He also notched 23 shutouts in 191 starts.

Of course, the expansion Golden Knights far exceeded expectations, thanks in large part to a supremely talented roster. In Chicago - where the wins have been much tougher to come by - Fleury hopes to spearhead a resurgence and return to relevance.

"Seems like guys are excited," Fleury said. "They are excited about the season. There are so many good, young players on this team and obviously some good veterans too.

"The trades and the signings they (made) over the summer will hopefully help this team. Just got to create some chemistry ... and get going and everybody can do good things."