ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marc-Andre Fleury flashed his signature cheek-to-cheek smile when asked this week about what this 21st and final season will be like for him.
“The funny thing is, last year, everybody asked everywhere we went: ‘Are you going to retire? Are you going to retire?’” Fleury told The Athletic with a big laugh. “So this year, I figured I’d just tell everybody I’m retiring, but sounds like I’m still going to be asked about it everywhere we go anyway.”
Such is life when you’re a sure-thing Hall of Famer going on age 40 and possess a resume that includes three Stanley Cup championships, the second-most regular-season wins in NHL history (561) and being one of four goalies to ever play in 1,000 regular-season games.
But Fleury doesn’t want this to be some kind of victory lap around the NHL where everywhere he goes he’s showered with gifts and tributes.
“I don’t want any special treatment,” he said. “I just want to go, look around, bring back some memories from my time here, but definitely not looking forward to any special treatment. Don’t need that. We’re good.”
What a beauty Marc-Andre Fleury is. Says in his final trip around the league this year, “I don’t want any special treatment.” pic.twitter.com/w19jvGVCUH
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) September 19, 2024
Good luck with that.
Naturally, there will be places that’ll treat Fleury like royalty.
The Wild’s seven-game trip next month ends in Pittsburgh. So you know there will be some sort of “au revoir” extended.
The Wild actually have three off nights in Pittsburgh after an afternoon game in Philadelphia, so Fleury said he will treat the trip as a chance to catch up with old friends. The Penguins play in Vancouver on the Wild’s first off night, but Fleury does have plans already to have dinner with old teammates like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang at their favorite sushi and steak places.
“It will be good to spend some time there,” Fleury said. “I feel like every time we go there, we’re in and out pretty quickly. So, it will be good, just drive around a bit, see some friends and enjoy the time.”
Fleury, who makes his preseason debut Friday night against Winnipeg, re-signed on a one-year, $2.5 million contract in April, one day before his final start of his 20th NHL season. Wild boss and Fleury’s former Penguins teammate Bill Guerin has a great affinity for Fleury, not just the player he is and was on the ice but what he means inside a locker room.
This is the fourth season in Minnesota for the 2021 Vezina Trophy winner, and teammates look at it as a privilege to be around him. Sure, they may be victims of the odd prank every now and then, but there’s a reason Fleury has been beloved everywhere he goes in the NHL. There’s a reason it’s a given that after every game, an opposing trainer will tiptoe down to the Wild’s room asking if they can get a couple of his sticks autographed for opponents.
Guerin re-signed Fleury for that influence, something he thinks will make young players better, especially 21-year-old goalie Jesper Wallstedt, who the Wild plan to give a lot more NHL action this season.
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Fleury has spent a lot of the first week of camp in practice groups consisting largely of minor leaguers and prospects. That’s by design. And in Game 1 of the preseason on the third day of the camp, the Wild asked Fleury if he’d mind traveling to Winnipeg solely to be Wallstedt’s backup.
That’s almost unheard of to ask a 39-year-old, 21-year vet, to travel north of the border for the first exhibition game when he’s not even slated to play. But just imagine how sweet it was for the prospects in the Wild lineup that night to see Fleury, someone who has been in the NHL longer than some of them have been alive, step onto the plane and be in the room before that game.
As coach John Hynes said, “That’s who he is. That’s one of the main things around there. He’s a Hall of Fame goalie. But you talk to anybody in the organization, he’s coming on the plane, a lot of younger guys in their lineup, and all of a sudden he comes on the plane, he’s in the locker room, and not only that, as a backup.
“That’s a cultural thing. And that’s why he is on and off the ice.”
But Guerin also wants other teams to respect Fleury’s wishes of not being treated differently in his final visits.
“Look, we’re going to be business as usual. This is not a farewell tour,” Guerin said. “That’s not what he wants. That’s not what we want. We don’t want any distractions like that. We’re just going to go and do our business.”
“This is not a farewell tour,” he repeated. “I’ve been asked that question 20 times already, and it’s just not. We’re not doing it. We don’t want frickin’ video replays and video tributes and things like that. Like, let’s just play the games. Of course, if they do it in Pittsburgh, then that makes sense. In Vegas. In Montreal. That makes sense. And if they do it, great, nice, but that’s not what we’re all about. We’re going to work.”
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For Marc-Andre Fleury, career win No. 552 is one he and his teammates will ‘cherish’
For his part, Fleury is focused on having a better season than he did in 2023-24, when he had a 17-15-5 record with a 2.98 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage. He did show he can still play at a high level when needed. From Jan. 13 to March 16, when Filip Gustavsson was either hurt or struggling to find his game, Fleury went 9-2-1 in 14 appearances with a 1.92 goals-against average and .928 save percentage.
In 20 seasons, the 2003 No. 1 pick has played 1,025 games (864 starts), posting a 561-330-96 record with a 2.60 GAA, .912 save percentage and 75 shutouts. He ranks first all-time in shootout wins (65), second in wins, third in saves (26,586), fourth in games played and minutes played (59,276) and is the NHL’s active leader in all five categories.
His 552nd career win, to pass his childhood idol, Patrick Roy, came in a 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Jan. 15. He’s five games from passing Roy for the third-most regular-season games.
“I’m just trying to enjoy it,” Fleury said. “The grind. The tough times. The battles with the guys on the ice. I’m just trying to enjoy.”
Fleury missed the playoffs for the first time in 18 seasons in 2023-24. That wasn’t acceptable nor fun for the proud athlete.
Some athletes, when they miss the playoffs, can’t even stomach watching the postseason on TV. Fleury, not shockingly, was the opposite and paid close attention from his couch. It’s not where he wanted to be, that’s for sure.
He says for the Wild to get back to the playoffs, they must have a better start than we’ve seen the past few seasons. As the adage goes, you can’t make the playoffs early in the season, but you can sure miss it.
“Not just last year — last two, three years, right?” Fleury said. “It’s been a few tough starts that we’ve had. It plays a big part down the stretch when chasing the playoffs. I think, with the coaches and Billy. We had a good talk (before camp) about starting right, pushing each other, so when that first day comes around, we’re ready to go.
“We believe in ourselves. We love our locker room, and two years and three years ago we had 100-point seasons, right? If we can stay healthy, I think that will be a big part of it and stay consistent. I think last year we had some good stretches, but we also had long stretches where we weren’t good.
“Bad games will happen. Losses will happen. But I think if we can get out of them quick and get back on the horse and win the next one — not going into those slumps — we’ll be OK.”
Fleury said the Wild staff hasn’t sat down yet with him, Gustavsson and Wallstedt to discuss how it will work this season because it’ll be so fluid. Wallstedt could be shuttling back and forth to AHL Iowa, but there will be times when all three will be on the roster and get starts.
Fleury’s fine with that. He just wants to help win and do what he can behind the scenes to “get the guys going.”
“I think Wally’s a very good goalie, very talented — a little younger, but the more he plays, the more experience he’ll get,” Fleury said. “He’ll be great, just like Gus, also. So, I’ll just enjoy the last one and do whatever I can.”
Wallstedt joked last week that’s it’s crazy to think he is 21 years old and Fleury is entering his 21st season in the NHL after debuting for the Penguins in 2003.
Jesper Wallstedt on learning from M-A Fleury & Filip Gustavsson: “I think just being in their presence and definitely in Marc-Andre’s presence, just being around, seeing how he competes during his 21st NHL season and that’s how old I am. Just thinking about that is pretty crazy.” pic.twitter.com/3szb56FwVz
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) September 20, 2024
“It’s so surreal seeing those kids come in now,” Fleury said. “I try to take care of my body, I try to stay smart, do the right things to stay fit. But I’ve had help outside the ice to keep me going all these years.
“My first year, when I came in and I saw those older guys — Marc Bergevin and Mario (Lemieux), it was around their 20th year also — I just thought, ‘That’d be cool to be doing that.’ Never thought in my mind I could stick around so long, so I’m very fortunate.”
Last season, Fleury had a prank war with now-Capitals winger Brandon Duhaime. It started with Duhaime making fun of Fleury’s age after a game in December, continued with a Secret Santa pink cane gifted to Fleury and ended with Fleury removing the tires from Duhaime’s car and putting it on cement blocks in the Colorado Avalanche player parking lot before a game at Ball Arena.
Fleury has kept that pink cane in his stall as a “little souvenir.” And maybe it was fitting. Getting ready for a season at this age is different than 20 years ago.
“It gets a little tougher, little more stiffness and bumps and bruises, and tiredness, really,” he said. “When you’re 20, you’re just buzzing all the time. Now, a little less. But, just getting that rest and making sure you’re ready to go when you’re on the ice (is important). All those guys keep me young, right? It’s good to compete with them. It’s a lot of fun.”
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)
