BREAKING: Marc-Andre Fleury is Stepping Away From The NHL After Upsetting Loss

PUBLICATION

Stef
January 8, 2023 (1:39)

SHARE THIS STORY

A night that should have been yet another Milestone Moment celebration for Marc-André Fleury ended up being something completely different.
Fleury being Fleury, puts losses entirely on himself, and no one else. Whether or not a person has anything else going on in their life, that alone is more than enough for anyone to bear. And tonight, it finally became too much for the strongest Flower we know.

Tonight (1/7), the Wild faced off against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo. Obviously that city has been through a lot, recently, and the sporting community has rallied around them, and rightfully so. But even before the extra will to fight, to win for someone specific, the Sabres had been gaining momentum. They continued to do so against the Wild, who admittedly had a very «sleepy» start, that they were never fully able to shake off.

Even though they made a 3 goal comeback from being down 4-2, the Sabres tied in with minutes left in the 3rd, and came away with the coveted OT game winner to boot.

With a final score of 6-5, it sounds a lot worse for the goalies than it actually was. Maybe, just maybe, one of those 6 goals could be described as «soft». But it still came after scramble and screens and plenty of opportunities for teammates to clear the puck. And yet the didn't. The rest came from defensive breakdowns, turnovers, and simply unfocused and seemingly unmotivated players. Not to discredit Buffalo, who clearly came to work. Their offensive drive is force to be reckoned with, and can only be met by a ready and waiting defensive wall - which the Wild did not have. At all.

The Wild did have Fleury - a man of whom, I believe, they take advantage, and when it doesn't work out, he takes it out on himself. Yes, you have a 3 time Stanley Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, Vezina and Jennings trophy (among multiple other accolades) winning goaltender. That does not mean you don't have to pay attention when the puck is in your zone.

Can Fleury make saves without a stick? Of course.

Need an assist? Fleury's gotcha covered.

Two on one in OT? He's there.

But he's still only human. And he needs help. Obviously we don't know everything that goes on in the lives of our famous celebrities and/or athletes. In fact, we probably know extremely little for most, especially those without a social media presence, like Fleury.

He the kindest, most humble, funniest, insanely talented, and most wonderful humans to be around. And he's going through something major, right now. As reported, it's something he's been dealing with for the past week, possibly longer. Personally, I feel as if the Wild don't play as well in front of him as they do in front of Gus, and I'm not sure why. Maybe that has something to do with it; maybe what he's dealing with has nothing to do with hockey at all. But he is clearly blaming himself for the losses, and even said, «as usual» in his post-game interview when discussing himself giving up a goal.

Click here to view Fleury's saddened post-game interview

Coming from someone who's followed his career for the past 19 years, I know that's not like him. Though tarnished by the loss, this game gave our Flower sole possession of the number 5 spot for all time games played by a goalie, and got his 21st assist (2nd with the Wild).

As noted by Michael Russo, Fleury will be in Montréal with his family until Tuesday, when he'll rejoin the team in New York City to play the Rangers. I hope he can feel the love and support he's getting from his teammates and his fans. We know him. We love him. We're with him.