Marc-Andre Fleury has finally done it.
The crowd was chanting his name already in the second period in the Minnesota Wild’s game against the New York Islanders on Monday, and the chants were even louder as the game was in its dying minutes.
Fleury managed to get his 552nd win in the NHL after stopping all 21 shots, earning a shutout, putting him in sole possession of second place in career wins for goalies.
Wild players immediately rushed onto the ice for a huge hug to celebrate Fleury.
Fleury is a future Hall of Famer, and his impact on this Wild team and everyone he plays with has been enormous.
“Look at how the team rushed out after the game to congratulate him,” coach John Hynes said about the impact Fleury has made.
Fleury was already in elite company but now owns more victories than Patrick Roy and only trailing Martin Brodeur. He recently became the fourth goalie to play 1,000 games.
“My dream was to play in the NHL. I was so happy to play that first game,” said Fleury. “From then on, it was just one game at a time, one win at a time, trying to win the next one. I’ve been very fortunate to play with really great teams, great teammates, people that helped me stay healthy throughout the journey. It feels crazy to be here now.”
Martin Brodeur is now 139 wins away from Martin Brodeur. Is that possible? Fleury was asked about it postgame, and hilariously responded:
“I’ll need 15 more years.”
Marc-Andre Fleury—what an absolute legend!
