Marc-Andre Fleury isn't hanging up the skates and the pads just yet.
The Minnesota Wild goaltender, who was set to begin his retirement after the Wild's first-round playoff exit, told reporters on Monday he's not quite done and that he will compete for Team Canada in the IIHF World Championship in Stockholm next week.
"Just a little longer. I went home, my kids were crazy, I was like,' Geez, I got to keep playing, I guess,'" Fleury said with a chuckle.
The news comes just a day it was revealed Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, Fleury's former teammate, would join Canada at the World Championship. It'll be Fleury's first run at a World Championship, and he's looking forward to joining Crosby.
"I'm excited," Fleury said. "... I haven't played with Sid in a while, obviously, so I think it will be fun to go spend some time together and yell at him in practice a bit. Keep him honest in practice."
Fleury announced prior to the season that it would be his last in the NHL. The living legend played 22 seasons, recording 575 wins, the second-most of any goaltender in NHL history. He had a career .912 save percentage and won three Stanley Cup Finals with the Penguins in 2009, 2016 and 2017, and went to another with Vegas in 2018.
Fleury didn't add another Cup to his legacy during his four seasons in Minnesota, but he provided no shortage of great memories over those years. He'll retire with the Wild, and Fleury will stick around at least for a while. He's planning to stay in town next year, and potentially even remain around the Wild as a mentor for the younger players.
"I feel like I'll have to try maybe different things, see what (general manager Bill Guerin) has in mind, maybe if he has something for me," Fleury said. "I know goalies better. I don't want to be like a coach. I don't want to do media, no TV, nothing like that. If I can help the young guys maybe in some ways, it could be fun, too. But I think my first thing is I want to be home more, and I want to be there for my kids' birthdays, school play and just go walk Halloween with them, so I think that's my main concern."
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