Marc-André Fleury Knows He’s the Old Head of the NHL Playoffs: ‘I’m Closer to Their Parents Than to These Guys’

Not long ago, Marc-André Fleury—the decorated Minnesota Wild goaltender who, at 40 years old, is currently playing his 21st NHL season—had a realization that came soaring at him like a venomous slapshot: A handful of players in the league today weren’t yet born when he made his debut in 2003.

“It is weird,” Fleury said. “I’m closer to their parents than to these guys.”

When the NHL postseason got underway last weekend, so too did the annual tradition of players growing out their playoff beards—something that the Gen Z population is having a much harder time with than guys in Fleury’s age demographic. One of those bare-faced youngsters, in fact, shares a locker room with him. While Fleury has played in a head-spinning 169 playoff games, his 19-year-old Minnesota teammate Zeev Buium (born in—shield your eyes, millennials—2005) has gotten his first taste this year. With the Wild currently deadlocked in the first round with the Vegas Golden Knights heading into Thursday night’s Game 3, the most experienced player on the roster understands his place now. Fleury—who ranks second all-time in wins by an NHL goaltender—has shifted to a backup role. But that doesn’t mean he’s not contributing.

“I just make them feel comfortable, be themselves, and not [put] too much pressure on themselves,” Fleury said of guiding the younger generation. “If there's anything they need, I always try to help if I can.” Even for the skaters, who have a fundamentally different skill set than goalies, there’s wisdom to be gleaned from Fleury. The elder statesman from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, has basically seen it all, from games against now-defunct franchises like the Atlanta Thrashers and Phoenix Coyotes, to the 2004-05 lockout, which canceled the entire NHL season. (“That’s not so fun to talk about,” Fleury said of the lockout, his Canadian politeness radiating through the phone.)

The man nicknamed Flower has summited the hockey mountaintop several times, winning three Stanley Cups during his 14-year run with the Pittsburgh Penguins, asserting himself as one of the toughest men in the world to get a puck past. His time in the Steel City also overlapped with some of the best players to ever bless the ice, from late-stage Mario Lemieux to prime Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Of Crosby, with whom he also won Olympic gold in 2010 while playing for Team Canada, Fleury says he will never forget the time they spent gaming in the sky.

“We sat next to each other on the plane for all these years and played video games, usually SOCOM,” Fleury remembered fondly. “Remember those old PSPs? We could link up, four against four or something like that. That was our game for, I don’t know how many years. We could talk about life, about hockey, anything that's going on. I really appreciate that. I think our friendship grew in that time.”

When it comes to Malkin, the Russian behemoth whose jersey will one day hang in the rafters alongside Fleury’s and Crosby’s, the netminder’s memories are a little fuzzier. “He's such a funny guy. He always has those one-liners with his broken English. I don't know, probably better not to talk about it, but we've had a good time, having drinks and stuff at the bar…always good laughs with him, for sure. I feel like we hung out a bunch, but there's nothing [specific] really that comes to my mind. [It’s all] a little crazy.”

With much more hockey in his past than in his future—the battle-tested veteran has announced his plans to retire whenever the Wild are eliminated from the playoffs—Fleury has naturally gained a different perspective on the sport that’s defined his life. When he won his first ring in 2009, Fleury was in the middle of everything, clinching the championship in a thrilling Game 7 with one of the most iconic saves in NHL history. But when the Pens won back-to-back Cups in 2016 and ‘17, it was wunderkind Matt Murray between the pipes for Pittsburgh, relegating Fleury to the bench for the first time in his career. Winning sports’ greatest trophy two years in a row while not playing a single second in either of the Stanley Cup Finals was, obviously, a bit bittersweet for Fleury.

“It was the first time in my career where I wouldn't play very often, and I found it really hard actually,” he said of watching Murray take the job. “I love to compete and go out there and battle with the guys, so it's sometimes frustrating just to sit on the bench and do nothing. Now, playing with Gus [Minnesota’s starting goalie Filip Gustavsson]—who's been fantastic, such a great guy—but he’s also a fantastic goalie. I love cheering for the guy. I wish him all the best, and we have a great relationship. So, I think it's gotten easier with time.”

After the consecutive chips, Fleury decamped for Las Vegas, where he was part of the Golden Knights’ inaugural NHL season. Then 33, Fleury not only resumed first-string goaltender duties, he helped the Knights reach the Stanley Cup Final in their very first year of existence. Three years later, in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, he was awarded the Vezina Trophy, given to the best goalie in the league. From there, he played 45 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021-22 before signing on with the Wild, who he’s been with ever since. Spending two-plus decades in the NHL—winning 575 games and earning a spot in the top 10 of the all-time shutouts list—did not happen because of some sort of magic potion.

“Everybody helped,” Fleury said. “Especially over the last, I don't know, 10 years maybe. From physios and massages and different techniques to keep the body loose so things don't break down all the time, I definitely had some help to keep playing that long.”

Fleury raises the Stanley Cup in 2009 after beating the mighty Detroit Red Wings. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

If Fleury has a nemesis, it’s undoubtedly Alex Ovechkin, the man who’s netted more goals than any NHL player ever. Fleury owns the dubious distinction of being the goalie who Ovechkin has scored against the most, as 28 of Ovi’s record-setting 897 goals came at his expense. “It's hard to play against him,” Fleury said of his chief adversary, who helped make Penguins vs. Capitals the NHL’s juiciest rivalry for years. “But it's fun to compete against him, even though I like to not like him. You know what I mean? It was a little bit of a weird relationship.”

Before Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s record, though, he made a point of honoring Fleury. At the end of a game in March, with Ovechkin realizing that the Capitals’ game against Minnesota would likely be his last time matching up with Fleury (the Caps and Wild could still meet in the Cup Final, for what it’s worth), he had all of his teammates come back out onto the ice to shake Fleury’s hand. Even for someone who’s played more NHL games than any other active goalie, that moment still found a special place in Flower’s heart. “He's the best scorer there is,” Fleury acknowledged. “I'm glad he and I got to shake his hands. That was nice.” And while most hockey fans are well aware of Ovechkin’s success against Fleury, I did have to give the goalie a chance to highlight the reverse of that: the times that he stonewalled the game’s most prolific lamp lighter.

“My favorite one was probably Game 7 [in the 2009 conference semifinals],” he pinpointed. “Early in the game he got a breakaway and I stopped him. I was doing a little bit of a split. We ended up winning that game. I thought that was pretty cool.”

The underdog Wild are facing an uphill climb in their series against the Golden Knights, who finished the regular season with the best record in the Pacific Division. But nothing that happens during these playoffs could ever tamper the legend of Marc-André Fleury, who puck knowers will always respect as one of the stingiest goalies to ever do it, and who will likely never have to pay for a drink in Pittsburgh as long as he lives. From firing up tactical shooter games with Sid the Kid on discontinued consoles, to analyzing the game from the sidelines in his fourth decade of life, Fleury has constructed a rich hockey life. He waxes poetic about the way crowd noise used to bounce around the igloo-shaped Mellon Arena, the former home of the Penguins. He names Fort Lauderdale as his favorite road city—shouting out the rare in-season opportunities for sunshine it provides—as well as New York for allowing him to be “a normal person walking the sidewalk.” Even on his way out, he refuses to say what his least favorite NHL locale is. (Again, Canadian politeness.)

There’s still room to complain, though. “What I don't like is the new sticks,” he said, playfully. “Everybody can shoot the puck pretty hard. Before, it was wood sticks, or two-piece sticks with a wood plate. [Back] then a couple guys on the team had a great shot, a great slap shot maybe. But now, all four lines can shoot and score.”

Transitioning to the next stage of life won’t be easy. It never is for any pro athlete, especially one who’s tasted glory as many times as Fleury. But he’s done, folks. “There's things that happened that made me realize that this is coming to an end, for sure,” he said, while using past tense throughout our conversation in discussing his Hall of Fame career.

“I just find it crazy that 21 years went by. It’s so insane.”