Marc-Andre Fleury signed a two-year, $7 million contract to remain with the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. It has an average annual value of $3.5 million.
The 37-year-old goalie, who could have become an unrestricted free agent July 13, had been acquired by the Wild in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 21 for a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Fleury was 28-23-5 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 56 regular-season games this season, including 9-2-0 with a 2.74 GAA and .910 save percentage in 11 starts after the trade. He was 2-3 with a 3.04 GAA and .906 save percentage in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“It was such a great time, loved the time [in Minnesota] and everything,” Fleury said on May 17 after the Wild were eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference First Round. “Made it very appealing to play here.
“I’m glad I came, I’m glad I got the opportunity to play with this team. Such a great locker room, great chemistry between the guys and the staff, coaches. … Even people around town, when I went to restaurants and stuff, everybody was very welcoming and nice. They love the game, they love their hockey here, so it was good to live this.”
Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, Fleury is 520-299-85 with two ties, a 2.57 GAA, .913 save percentage and 71 shutouts in 939 games (914 starts) for the Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Blackhawks and Wild. He ranks third in NHL history in wins, behind Martin Brodeur (691) and Patrick Roy (551), and is tied for 12th in shutouts.
He won the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL in 2020-21.
Fleury is also 92-73 with a 2.54 GAA, .912 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 167 playoff games (165 starts), including winning the Stanley Cup three times with Pittsburgh (2009, 2016, 2017).
Cam Talbot, who was the Wild’s No. 1 goalie prior to the trade for Fleury, has one season remaining on a three-year, $11 million contract he signed with Minnesota on Oct. 9, 2020.
He finished the regular season 8-0-3 after Fleury was acquired, and although Fleury started the first five games of the series against the Blues, Talbot replaced him in Game 6, when Minnesota was eliminated with a 5-1 loss.
“Guys, I’ve got to be honest with you, with situations like this, you guys make more of it than we do. It’s really not that big of a deal,” Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin said. “There’s no controversy, there’s no drama. We like both goalies, we like both people. We want them both back and we think we can be successful with both of them. And, I mean, that’s just it.”
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