Marc-Andre Fleury joining Sidney Crosby, Team Canada for 2025 IIHF World Championship
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury isn't hanging up the skates quite yet.
Fleury, who recently put the finishing touches on a 21-year NHL career, announced on Monday that he would join former teammate Sidney Crosby and Team Canada as an active participant for the upcoming IIHF Men's World Championship.
It was a little over three years ago that one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play was traded to the Minnesota Wild. Forward Marcus Foligno remembers it well.
"There was a buzz around our room," said Foligno. "I remember everyone couldn't stop smiling. I remember Kevin Fiala was going nuts because he loved Flower just as much."
Fleury's was one full of championship moments and jaw-dropping saves. Twenty-one years, three Stanley Cups, and the second most wins ever.
"I probably wouldn't believe you," said Fleury at his end-of-season press conference Monday. "I never thought I was gonna make the NHL, even before I was getting drafted. I was just playing junior hockey, and the NHL seemed so far away. These guys are so good. So it didn't even cross my mind that I was gonna actually make it."
Possibly the most well-respected player of his era, Fleury's last season was full of emotional farewells. He knew it was time.
"I feel I'm not as good as I was," said Fleury. "I'm not as flexible as I was. I don't do things like I used to, and that pisses me off. After I play, it feels like a car hits you sometimes."
Fleury saw his final action for the Wild in Game 5 of their playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights when starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson was unable to finish the contest as he was battling illness.
The 40-year-old Quebec native burst into the league as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2003 NHL Draft, selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Fleury spent the first 13 years of his career in Pittsburgh, winning three Stanley Cups, before being selected in the 2017 Expansion Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
As a member of the Golden Knights, Fleury helped lead Vegas to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, the team's inaugural season in the NHL.
Fleury also had a brief spell with the Chicago Blackhawks before joining the Wild.
Despite all of his ties, Fleury has decided to settle and remain living in Minnesota.
"We're trying to get him to be the emergency back-up goalie," said Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon. "So he might still be here. You never know."
