NHL: Marc-Andre Fleury – Source: Imagn
Hockey fans assumed that Marc-Andre Fleury’s NHL career had come to an end when the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights.
The legendary goaltender hinted throughout the year that it would indeed be the final season of his playing days. Teams around the league would line up to shake the Flower’s hand after games, in a show of respect for what he has accomplished. It felt like a perfect send-off season for one of the all-time greats.
But then came the surprise news that Marc-Andre Fleury would be joining Team Canada to play at the 2025 IIHF World Championships. The Sorel, Quebec, native is sharing the net with Jordan Binnington, and on Sunday, it was his turn to start against the Latvians.
TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun took to X (formerly Twitter) while watching Canada play and threw out the idea of Fleury putting his retirement on hold after showing how much game he still has to give.
“Marc-Andre Fleury flashes the glove. I don’t know, could the world championships change Flower’s mind on retirement?? Just kidding. Kind of …,” LeBrun wrote.
Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, then provided a very interesting response, perhaps keeping the door open for his client to play another season.
“Flower has made his intentions clear. Kind of…,” Walsh replied.
Fleury just completed his one-year, $2,500,000 contract extension signed with the Wild in 2024. If playing for Team Canada does persuade him to give it another go in 2025-26, it’s safe to assume that he would remain in Minnesota.
Marc-Andre Fleury is showing off his s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s at the Worlds
At 40 years old, Marc-Andre Fleury still looks like he always has, sprawling across the crease to make athletic saves around the net.
He’s doing it again on Sunday for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships, stoning Team Latvia with several miraculous stops.
Hockey Canada posted the video of the crazy sequence of saves on X.
That final save looks eerily similar to his last-second stop on Red Wings legend Nicklas Lidstrom, which secured the Pittsburgh Penguins a Game 7 victory to win the Stanley Cup in 2008-09.
Fleury and Team Canada will next suit up against Team France on Tuesday afternoon. The puck drops at 2:20 p.m. EST at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.