When the Minnesota Wild lost 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights to end a Western Conference first-round series Thursday night, it was the end of an era in the NHL.
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s career has come to an end.
Fans at the XCel Energy Center chanted Fleury’s name during the traditional post-series handshake line. Fleury then shook hands with the on-ice officials, gave a quick wave to the crowd and headed to the locker room.
Marc-Andre Fleury salutes the crowd and leaves the ice for the final time in his NHL career ???? pic.twitter.com/FVUjHwz7SI
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 2, 2025
Fleury’s final appearance came in Game 5 of the series Tuesday when he replaced ill starter Filip Gustavsson and stopped 6 of 7 shots in a third period of a 3-2 Vegas win.
Fleury’s first appearance came Oct. 10, 2003 when he made 46 saves in a spectacular performance in a 3-0 Penguins loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
His final game against the Penguins came March 9 of this season when he stopped 19 shots but gave up goals to longtime teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin during a 3-1 Wild loss.
His final game in Pittsburgh was Oct. 29 of this season when he made 26 saves in a 5-3 Wild win over the Penguins/
Fleury wraps up his career as the second-winningest goalie in NHL history with 575 career victories in the regular season, trailing only Martin Brodeur (691).
A three-time Stanley Cup champion, he is tied with Grant Fuhr for third all-time in postseason wins with 92, trailing Patrick Roy (151) and Brodeur (113).
