ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Marc-Andre Fleury has exited the NHL after 21 seasons in the net, eager for more family time and an end to the on-ice tributes while fully accepting at age 40 that he’s no longer at his best.
OK, so he’s not quite ready to completely call it quits.
Fleury revealed on Monday during a season-ending interview in Minnesota that he has agreed to join Team Canada for the ice hockey world championship later this month. With the Wild eliminated four days ago from the NHL playoffs, Fleury’s calendar is wide open.
“Just a little longer, right? I went home, my kids were crazy, I was like, ‘Geez, I’ve got to keep playing,'” Fleury said jokingly.
After apologizing in case he wasn’t yet authorized to announce his participation, Fleury said he was looking forward to reuniting with Sidney Crosby, his former Pittsburgh teammate who was the first celebrity addition to Canada’s squad.
“I think it’ll be fun to go spend some time together and yell at him in practice a bit, keep him honest,” said Fleury, whose postseason action was limited to the third period and overtime of Game 5 against Vegas when an illness forced Wild starter Filip Gustavsson out.
The tournament takes place in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark, starting Friday and running through May 25. Hockey Canada announced Sunday that Crosby would join the team coached by Dean Evason, Fleury’s former coach with the Wild who now is with Columbus. The only goalie who’d been announced previously was New York Rangers prospect Dylan Garand, though another regular NHL netminder surely will be next.
Those who go deep into the NHL playoffs can’t participate in the world championship, obviously, which is largely why this will be Fleury’s first time on the roster. He played in 170 postseason games, playing on three Stanley Cup winners with the Penguins and reaching a fourth finals with the Golden Knights. Fleury also played in the Olympics for Team Canada in 2010, as the third-stringer behind Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur.
This bonus tournament will help with the transition for Fleury, who is never more than a few seconds away from a smile but has been outwardly emotional at times down the stretch of this farewell season upon reflection on the praise from his peers around the league, teammates and fans.
“I knew it was coming, but it’s still sad when it happens for real,” Fleury said.
Fleury has realized over the last year that he’s making the right decision, with both his body and his mind telling him to stop.
“I feel like I’m not as good as I was. I feel like I’m not as flexible as I was. I don’t do things like I used to,” said Fleury, likening some of the mornings after games he has started to feeling like he’d been in a car crash. “It’s a little frustrating. You try to take care of your body as much as you can and try to stay healthy, try to stay loose and strong enough, keep up with the young guys, but at some point it catches up.”
Fleury plans to keep living in the Twin Cities area with his wife and three children, so a job in the front office with the Wild might be next. The players have been encouraging him to serve as the emergency backup goalie next season in case Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt come down with the flu or an injury. Mountain biking, skiing, tennis — that’s all appealing, too.
“But I think my first thing, though, is I want to be home more. I want to be there for my kids’ birthdays and school plays and just go walk Halloween with them and stuff like that,” Fleury said. “That’s my main concern.”
The Wild will be more than willing to give him that space.
“Being able to share the same sweater as him is something that I will never take for granted,” defenseman Brock Faber said. “It’s something I will tell my kids and something that I will brag about to all my friends and family forever. He’s a legend, and a legendary human being.”
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