The Minnesota Wild are set to take on the Montreal Canadiens for what would normally be a casual late-January matchup between teams that don’t share a conference. This particular meeting between the Wild and Canadiens carries a little more weight for one special veteran.
Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is playing in his final NHL season and grew up cheering for the Canadiens and idolizing Hall of Fame netminder Patrick Roy. It’ll be Fleury’s final game in his home province of Quebec and it’s sure to be an emotional night.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun noted that there Fleury will likely experience some nerves as he plays in front of the Montreal crowd one last time.
“I think he’s a bit nervous, obviously he grew up a Habs fan,” LeBrun said. “Last year when Fleury was in Montreal, no one really knew what his future was, and he got a pretty good reaction from the Bell Centre crowd.”
This time around, knowing it will for sure be his final time in Montreal as an NHL goalie, Fleury hopes he can drink in the special moment.
"I'll just try to take it in,” Fleury said. “Take a little pause maybe. Just look around and try to take a mental picture to remember my last one there."
Fleury spoke with NHL.com and noted that there is a bus full of friends and family coming in from his hometown of Sorel, about an hour outside of Montreal.
“I know there's going to be a bus coming down from Sorel,” Fleury said. “I'll have several of my family members and friends there. My wife (Véronique) will also be traveling from Minnesota with our three kids. I have to thank my sister (Marylène) for planning things out with everyone back in Sorel. I'll be sharing that game with my loved ones."
LeBrun noted there may be upwards of 100 people coming in to support Fleury in what should be a very special night.
Fleury has been receiving special gifts and moments from teams around the NHL, even dating back to last season when everyone thought that would have been it for him and his career. This time around, the 2024-25 season has felt like a farewell tour for the future Hall of Famer.
In his final two years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Fleury shared a crease with Matt Murray. During warmups ahead of the Wild’s meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Murray skated over the Fleury and had a long friendly chat. Fleury and Murray helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in those two seasons.
“He doesn’t want to make a big deal of it [playing in Montreal], he’s so humble, he says he doesn’t know what to expect,” LeBrun said. “Let’s be real, I think that Bell Centre crowd is really going to show him a lot of affection.”
Fleury may be 40 years old and playing in his final season, he’s still a solid option between the pipes. He has a 10-5-1 record this season with the Wild, continuing to add to his Hall of Fame legacy.
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