Marc-Andre Fleury’s NHL playing career is over.
The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Game 6 to eliminate them in a back-and-forth series. While it was tough for all of Minnesota to get eliminated from the playoffs, it may have stung a little harder for Fleury.
When Fleury signed a one-year contract extension with the Wild in April 2024, he announced the 2024-25 season would be his last. Now that his team is out of the playoffs, his memorable career has ended.
During the traditional handshake line after the series, opposing players spent a little more time with Fleury. After that, the four officials congratulated him on his long career, before he saluted the fans giving him a standing ovation.
One last time. 🌸
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 2, 2025
After 21 seasons, Marc-André Fleury has officially retired from the NHL. 🥲❤️ pic.twitter.com/KR85TDsxyb
After the game, left winger Kirill Kaprizov touched on the honor of being Fleury’s teammate for a short time.
“It was nice to play with him… a couple of seasons together. You can learn so much stuff from him,” Kaprizov told reporters. “I don’t know what to say, unbelievable career… one of the best goalies in the world, all-time.”
Fleury played 1,051 games over 21 years in the NHL. He spent most of his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning three Stanley Cups over 13 years. The Penguins made sure to congratulate him and to thank him for his time with them.
“Congratulations to Marc-Andre Fleury on a phenomenal NHL career. We've been privileged to be a part of it,” the team said on social media.
The NHL also released a video on its socials, with several old teammates and star players praising him and his prolonged career. The video consisted of messages from former teammate Sidney Crosby, along with Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid, Jeremy Swayman and Macklin Celebrini.
"Fleury's been doing it for so long," Eichel said. "The model of consistency, and I don't think I've ever spoken to a player or staff member, really anybody who's had a bad thing to say about the guy."
Wild defenseman Brock Faber was also in the video message and couldn’t say enough about Fleury.
“As a young player in this league, there isn’t a single guy, probably ever, that could be a better role model,” he said. “The way he treats his teammates, his family, how hard he works, it’s a complete honor to be able to share the same sweater as him.”
'Flower' ends his career with the second-most wins and second-most games played by a goaltender in NHL history, behind Martin Brodeur in both categories.
The 40-year-old from Sorel, Que., signs off with a 575-339-2-95 record, with a 2.60 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and 76 shutouts. He also won the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017, the Vezina Trophy and the William M. Jennings Trophy in 2020-21.
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