Marc-Andre Fleury never played a game for the Canadiens, but Montreal made sure to say au revoir in its own special way.
Fleury, the Sorel-Tracy, Quebec native and retiring NHL goaltender, got a special treatment in his home province in what was likely his Montreal swan song after he led the Wild to a 4-0 victory over the Habs.
After Fleury stopped 19 shots in his 76th NHL shutout, he was given a rousing ovation from the Montreal crowd as he was mobbed by his own teammates as the ultimate horn sounded.
On top of that, your complete Canadiens lineup waited for him at center ice, each player giving him a handshake before he skated over to the team’s coaching staff on the bench.
As Fleury led the Wild — who waited for him, stick-tapping all of the while — off the ice, he waved to the adoring crowd.
He was then the primary Minnesota player down the visitor’s tunnel.
Before the sport began, Bell Centre cheered him loudly as he was shown on the video board above the ice through the playing of the Canadian national anthem.
A second act got here during a TV timeout through the third period, the video board gave him one other tribute as the group held up sounds and chanted his last name over and once more.
The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2003 is in the course of his final season, his twenty first within the NHL, in what has been a memorable profession for the netminder.
Fleury has won three Stanley Cups, won the Vezina Trophy through the 2021 playoffs and is second on the all-time wins list for a goalie (571).
He’ll get a probability for another Cup before his profession is over, because the Wild sit in second within the Western Conference with 66 points.
