Marc-Andre Fleury retires
(Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Marc-Andre Fleury officially announced his retirement after 21 NHL seasons.
  • The future Hall of Famer finishes 2nd all-time in wins (575) and won 3 Stanley Cups.
  • Keep reading for details on Fleury’s legendary career and retirement announcement.

It’s official. The Flower has played his last game.

Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury hung up the skates for good Thursday night, calling it a career after the Wild bowed out of the playoffs in Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

That loss marked the end of an incredible 21-season run for one of the game’s most beloved figures.

Fleury, the oldest active NHL player at 40, didn’t get the start in the elimination game, watching from the bench as time expired on his NHL tenure.

Even so, as the teams shook hands, the remaining fans gave the future Hall of Famer one last salute, chanting “Fleury! Fleury!” as he acknowledged the crowd and headed off the ice for the final time. It was a fitting send-off for a guy who gave fans so many memories.

His last actual game action came in Game 5, stepping in cold for Filip Gustavsson, who left with an illness. Fleury played the third period and overtime, stopping 6 of 7 shots in the loss. It wasn’t the storybook ending everyone might have hoped for, but Fleury’s legacy was cemented long before that.

Drafted first overall way back in 2003 by Pittsburgh, Fleury was the cornerstone of the Penguins’ turnaround. He backstopped the Pens to three Stanley Cups, playing a starring role in 2009 and grabbing key wins during the back-to-back runs in 2016 and 2017.

When the Vegas Golden Knights came into the league, Fleury became their first franchise goalie, an original “Misfit” who took them all the way to the Cup Final in year one.

He spent four great years in Vegas, even winning his only Vezina Trophy there in 2021. After a quick pit stop in Chicago, he landed in Minnesota, where he spent his final seasons, providing solid goaltending and mentoring Gustavsson.

The numbers are mind-blowing. Fleury finishes second all-time in wins with 575, trailing only Martin Brodeur. He played over 1,000 games, started 1,017 of them, posted a career .912 save percentage, a 2.60 goals-against average, and racked up 76 shutouts. Talk about longevity and consistency. He’s also the last active goalie to have a tie on his record, truly the end of an era.

Beyond the stats and the wins, Fleury was known as one of the best teammates and biggest pranksters in the game. While he never got that goalie fight he apparently always wanted, or a goalie goal, his impact was massive.

Next stop: Toronto, and the Hockey Hall of Fame. There’s no doubt about that.