HIGHLIGHTS
- Marc-Andre Fleury played his final game in Montreal on Thursday
- Canadiens fans cheered him on throughout the game and the Habs even shook his hand
- Continue reading for the full scoop
Marc-Andre Fleury will retire at the end of the 2024-25 season, which means Thursday’s game at the Bell Centre was his last in the province where he was born and raised. Fleury grew to love the game just an hour outside of Montreal and of course, grew up watching the Canadiens.
Despite shutting out his boyhood team in a 4-0 victory for the Minnesota Wild, Habs fans cheered Fleury on many times throughout the contest, with the biggest celebration coming at the end of the game.
Via NHL on X:
A special night at the Bell Centre for Marc-Andre Fleury 🌸 pic.twitter.com/e8OxbLMiyW
— NHL (@NHL) January 31, 2025
What a special moment. The Canadiens team even lined up and all separately shook his hand.
Chills:
The entire Canadiens team shook Marc-Andre Fleury's hand after his final game in Montreal 🥹🌸 pic.twitter.com/RL8hZEtqWk
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 31, 2025
This was Fleury’s 22nd career game at the Bell Centre and it couldn’t have gone any better. He made 19 saves in the win and moved into 10th all-time in shutouts with 76, tied with Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito.
The 40-year-old was named the first star in the matchup. Marc-Andre Fleury had over 100 family and friends in attendance to watch him shine and explained on Wednesday how special it is to play in front of his loved ones.
Via The Minnesota Star Tribune:
“It’s the city where you’re from, and people want to appreciate you or my career,” Fleury said. “The support I’ve gotten, obviously from my family and my friends through the good, through the bad, and to be home and have a cheer like that like last season definitely brings some emotions and goosebumps.”
Fleury has been Filip Gustavsson’s backup but his numbers are solid, posting an 11-5-1 record and 2.76 GAA. He’s now played 1,043 career games, which is just one behind the legendary Roberto Luongo for second all-time.