Connect with us

Florida Panthers

Marc-Andre Fleury Visits Florida Panthers One Last Time with Wild

Published

3 months ago

on

Fleury wild
Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, pictured last December against the Winnipeg Jets, will visit Sunrise one last time as a player on Tuesday night. The future Hall of Famer said he will retire following this season. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

Take a close look at No. 29 for the Minnesota Wild tonight. This is likely the final visit to South Florida for future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, announced he will retire at the end of the season.

“I’m grateful to keep doing what I love for one more season,” Fleury said after signing a one-year deal with the Wild last spring.

his “It’s good that this is settled and we don’t have to talk about it for another year. And next year will be last, also.”

The first of Fleury’s 1,026 regular season games came in October 2003 — and he is 18 games shy of tying Roberto Luongo for second-most in NHL history.

Unless he comes into the game tonight, Fleury will not get any closer to Luongo — Fleury is three games back of Patrick Roy for third place on the all-time list.

The Wild plan to start Filip Gustavsson against the Panthers with Fleury going against the Lightning on Thursday night.

Fleury digs playing Florida, going 18-10-2 against the Panthers with a .922 save percentage.

The face of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights in his time there, Fleury won Stanley Cup three times in Pittsburgh — and is expected to get one final start there when the Wild visit next Tuesday.

Fleury also helped get the expansion Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018. 

In Vegas, he won both the Vezina and William B. Jennings Trophies in the abbreviated 2021 season.

Fleury is known for his infectious personality just as much as for his superior ability and longevity.

Wherever he has played, his smiling face can be seen during interviews and under the mask during play stoppages. 

Pregame, he can usually be seen stretching on his side of the red line while simultaneously bantering with an opposing goaltender.

He is not averse to a prank or practical joke, be it on a teammate or the opposition, many of whom were one-time teammates.

Among his milder pranks is ordering wakeup calls for teammates at 4 a.m. or putting baby powder into hair dryers.

Fleury will get the traditional postgame handshakes reserved for beloved veterans as the season progresses after their final game with each opponent.

If the Panthers are going to give Fleury a special goodbye, it will probably be on Dec. 18 when they visit St. Paul.

Visits to the arenas he called home will be memorable.

Aside from one last game in Pittsburgh, Fleury and the Wild visit Las Vegas on Jan. 12.

Feel-good stuff aside, Minnesota has struggled the past couple of seasons and missed the playoffs last year. 

The last time the Wild went past the first round was in 2014-15.

General manager Bill Guerin has been in a strangling cap situation since buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in 2021.

Minnesota is off to a great start in this one, however.

Now only is the Wild 3-0-2, it is the fifth team in NHL history and first since the 2016-17 Bruins to not trail in regulation through its first five games of a season.

Both Fleury and Gustavsson are on reasonably priced contracts. Both had sub-.900 save percentages last year.

Fleury handled nearly half of the goaltending load last season, which was one of his poorest statistically.

He has had the resilience to bounce back in the past.

The Wild have “goalie of the future” Jesper Wallstedt in the AHL awaiting his opportunity if either Gustavsson or Fleury fail.

Gustavsson is riding a hot streak to start the season, with a 3-0-1 record, a 1.49 GAA and a .950 save percentage.

He also became the first goaltender in Wild history to score a goal — that coming in a win against St. Louis last week.

ON DECK: GAME NO. 8
MINNESOTA WILD AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

Get FHN+ today!
Related Topics: