The Chicago Blackhawks have had a ton of great players over the years, whether the team was winning or not. For a short time, one of those great players was the wonderful Marc-Andre Fleury.
Over his legendary NHL career, Fleury also spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, and Minnesota Wild. Most recently, he was part of a great duo in Minnesota.
On Thursday night, Fleury’s career came to an end with a first-round series loss to one of his old teams in the Golden Knights. Vegas beat Minnesota in six games.
By his final season, Fleury served as the backup to Filip Gustavsson. Fleury only played in relief for Gustavsson in game five as the latter left the game due to illness. That would end up being his final in-game appearance of his NHL career.
Once the handshake line between Vegas and Minnesota ended, Fleury stepped off the ice for the final time as an NHL player. His personality, smile, and skills will be missed by all hockey fans.
This won’t be the end of Fleury in the public eye, though. He is someone who could end up in the front office of an organization or in hockey one way or another. He will also have special ceremonies in Pittsburgh over time as they celebrate their run during the Sidney Crosby era.
Fleury will be in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day soon, now that he is officially hanging them up. He leaves the game with a record of 575-339-92. Those 575 wins are the second most in NHL history (Martin Brodeur). He also had a career 2.60 goals-against-average, a .912 save percentage, and 76 shutouts.
Fleury is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a winner of the Jennings Trophy, and a Vezina Trophy recipient. All of these accolades put him in the stratosphere of the game’s all-time greats.
Congratulations to Marc-Andre Fleury on a phenomenal @NHL career. We’ve been privileged to be a part of it.
The Blackhawks were lucky to be a small part of it. He played for them during the pre-trade deadline portion of the 2021-22 season. Fleury appeared in 45 games for Chicago before being traded to Minnesota. He was a great warrior for a team going through some massive change.
On his way out of the league, Fleury was nominated for the NHL’s Bill Masterton Trophy, which goes to the player voted to best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. This is a well-deserved honor.
Now that his career is over, his fans can look forward to seeing what the next chapter of his life is. On the ice and off, he was one of the NHL’s supreme talents. The league was a better place for having him in it for so long.
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