Veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will run it back with the Minnesota Wild. He is going to be back for at least one more season with the Minnesota Wild, with Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reporting on the deal.
“Big news: Marc-Andre Fleury is signing a 1-year extension with #mnwild at $2.5 million. Fleury turns 40 in November. Flower climbed to second all-time in wins (561) last season and with 21 more games, can pass Roy and Luongo for second all-time in games played by a goaltender.”
The 39-year-old netminder's new deal with the Wild was reported just before Minnesota plays its final game of the 2023-24 NHL season against the Seattle Kraken at home this coming Thursday night. The Wild are out of playoff contention, as it will finish in the sixth spot in the Central division standings and just fourth in the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference, with the two wild-card spots already secured by the Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings.
Fleury sounded thrilled that he got a new deal with the Wild done just before the end of the regular season when he spoke about the transaction.
“I'm grateful to keep doing what I love for one more season. I thought about it a lot this year, but I'm still loving to compete, the intensity, the opportunity to be in the best league in the world also, right? And compete with young guys. I feel very lucky to be able to do it one more year.”
Fleury, who is going to turn 40 years old in November, also hinted that the next season will be his final one in the NHL.
“I've been asked a lot about fans, media, friends, family, what's next for me. It's good that this is settled and I don't have to talk about it for another year. The next year will be last, so I'm excited to get this done today.
Marc-Andre Fleury comments on his 1 year contract extension signed today with the @mnwild and on his future. @NHL 🌸🌸🌸🌸 pic.twitter.com/38jH2oSHxn
— Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) April 17, 2024
The future Hall of Famer arrived in the Twin Cities in 2022 when the Chicago Blackhawks sent him to the Wild via a trade in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft (conditional). He then signed a two-year deal worth $7 million with the Wild in the 2022 offseason.
Marc-Andre Fleury's 2022-23 season with the Wild
Even though he's past his prime, Fleury has been solid for the Wild in the 2023-24 NHL campaign. Minnesota enters the aforementioned Kraken game with Fleury carrying a 17-14-5 record to go with a team-best 2.98 goals allowed per game average and an. 895 saves percentage across 39 outings. He has mostly shared the starting goalie duties with Filip Gustavsson, who has a 19-18-4 record and a 3.06 goals allowed per game average plus a .899 saves percentage.
Fleury has not looked good, however, in his two most recent starts. After allowing four goals on 25 shots faced in a 4-2 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Apr. 6, Fleury surrendered seven goals on 30 shots faced in a 7-2 defeat at the hands of his former team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nevertheless, the Wild obviously still love having Fleury around, and they will now have another season to enjoy the services of an all-time great in front of the net.
Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, is second overall in the history of the NHL with 561 wins, passing another legend in Patrick Roy this season for the No. 2 spot.
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