PITTSBURGH (AP) – Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the No. 1 pick in the NHL June draft, will return to his junior team in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, on Friday.

The move, announced Thursday, came several days after the Penguins signaled they had no plans to send Fleury back to juniors in the near future.

With Fleury coming off consecutive well-played games, and nearing the 25-game mark that would give him the chance to collect $3 million in bonuses, the Penguins decided to make the move.

“Certainly finances are in the back of our minds all the time,” Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said. “We can’t afford to lose a lot of money, but we just felt for a 19-year-old kid, it’s best for him to get back into his own element with his peers and try to win some championships which we think is important for development.”

Fleury was to back up Jean-Sebastien Aubin during Thursday night’s game at Tampa Bay, then join Cape Breton. This will be Fleury’s fourth season with Cape Breton; he was 17-24-6 with a 3.36 goals-against average last season.

With Pittsburgh, Fleury was 4-14-2 with a 3.64 goals-against average, an .896 save percentage in 21 games and 11 losses in his last 12 decisions. He was the NHL’s rookie of the month in October, when he was 2-2-2 with a 1.96 goals-against average.

“Marc’s disappointed; it’s his dream to play in the NHL,” coach Eddie Olczyk said on his pregame radio show. “He’s proven he can play here and deserves to play here. It’s a tough decision, but it’s the right decision. He has a chance to go win a Memorial Cup. The more he plays and the more he learns, the better he’s going to be.”

Owner Mario Lemieux, Patrick and Olczyk have talked for several weeks about what to do with Fleury, and Olczyk indicated last week he planned to give Fleury a series of starts.

Fleury subsequently played in a 5-3 loss Saturday to Colorado and 6-2 loss Tuesday to Tampa Bay, responding with his two best games since October. Four of the Lightning’s six goals came on the power play or with Fleury off the ice.

Before those games, Fleury allowed 10 goals over five periods in his first two NHL games after returning from his monthlong stay with the Canadian world junior team, a 4-2 loss to Minnesota and a 6-5 loss to Ottawa.

Those two poor starts came after he inadvertently allowed the winning goal to score in Canada’s 4-3 championship game loss to the United States. His clearing pass struck a teammate and bounced into his own net during a decisive three goal U.S. third period.

Despite going back to juniors, Fleury still could earn the contract bonuses he missed out on this season. His bonuses are capped at $8 million during the $3.72 million, three-year contract he signed last year.

To have earned the extra $3 million this season, Fleury needed to reach two of six standards: a 3.25 goals-against average, .890 save percentage, 20 victories, four shutouts, 1,800 minutes played and a top-five finish in the Calder Trophy voting.

Except for an .896 save percentage, he was below all of those with a a 3.64 GAA, four victories, one shutout and 1,154 minutes played. The Calder Trophy voting has yet to take place.

“He’s exceeded our expectations,” Patrick said. “He’s going to be a great goaltender for a long time. We thought it was best for him to back to his junior club, considering our circumstances, and put him in a situation where he’s got a chance to win some championships.”

AP-ES-01-29-04 1954EST