After 21 seasons in the NHL, Québécois-born goaltender Marc-André Fleury is hanging up his pads. Fleury has left a permanent mark on hockey fans' memories throughout his career, so here's a look back at the 40-year history of number 29.
A Proud Sorelois
For those who didn't know, "Flower", born on November 28, 1984, hails from Sorel-Tracy, a city of 35,000 inhabitants located approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes from Montreal. The 40-year-old played much of his minor hockey with the Riverains from Collège Charles-Lemoyne.
A trip to Cape Breton
Before playing professionally, Fleury spent four years with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the QMJHL. He played a total of 151 games, earning 63 wins and maintaining a .908 save percentage.
The first player called up to the podium
With the very first pick in the 2003 NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Marc-André Fleury. In fact, he was the last goaltender to be selected first overall (and he might just be the last). Fleury went before the likes of Eric Staal, Thomas Vanek, Ryan Suter, Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and the Penguins certainly didn't regret a thing.
A real prankster
In addition to being universally loved as a gentleman, the man known as "Flower" is also a legendary prankster. Over the course of his career, he's played some unique tricks on many of his current and former teammates, including Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Brandon Duhaime, just to name a few.
A victorious career
The Francophone has enjoyed a career equal to the greats, having won the Stanley Cup on three occasions with the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2009, 2016 and 2017. He also lost in the finals twice, in 2008 and 2018. Fleury also captured Olympic Gold in 2010, playing third fiddle to Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo.
Several good friends to mention
As mentioned earlier, Fleury is highly regarded as a human being and is loved in the dressing room. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Max Talbot, former teammates of his with the Pittsburgh Penguins, are all known to be close to Fleury.
Vegas MVP
In 2017, after lifting the Stanley Cup, Fleury was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft. He dragged his team all the way to the finals in 2018, in his first year in Nevada, cementing himself in the Golden Knights record books right away.
The family section
Since 2012, "MAF" has been married to his long-time partner Véronique Larosée. The couple have three children, Estelle, Scarlette and James. With the announcement of his retirement, there's no doubt that Fleury will be able to spend more time with them. A family that will be closer than ever!
Brief stopover in Chicago
In 2021-2022, Marc-André Fleury briefly played for the Chicago Blackhawks, appearing in a total of 45 games before joining Minnesota later that season via trade. Remember that Vegas "gave" his contract to the Hawks at the time, in a trade for depth forward Mikael Hakkarainen. The Wild would go on to rely on Fleury for the rest of the season as their backup goaltender, not a bad deal!
The end of the show
Fleury's career came to an end on May 1, when Vegas eliminated the Wild in the first round of the playoffs. The Flower ended his NHL tenure with 1,052 games to his name, including 575 wins, 76 shutouts, 27,188 saves, a .912 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average. A career certainly worthy of the Hall of Fame. Enjoy your rest, Marc-André!