Marc-André Fleury Makes Final Retirement Decision..
Yesterday morning, Marc-André Fleury spoke the words every Flower fan longs to hear, «I would like to play at least another season.» He continued, «I decided that lately. I still like to play, I still have fun, the body still holdsMost of the time», he laughed. «But yes, another season and we will see after.»
With his tumultuous exit from Vegas, it was unclear, at first, whether the 37 year old, future Hall of Famer would extend his career. Personally, that terrified me, as I've been a fan since he joined the Penguins in 2003, but I'd never seen him play, in person. I was actually in the process of booking a trip to Vegas for a pre-season game when the news came out that he'd been traded. And so along with the rest of the hockey community, I waited on pins and needles for his decision, and was incredibly relieved and grateful when he accepted Chicago's offer.
Of course, being on the Blackhawks hasn't been easy, either, as anyone who knows Fleury knows of his fierce competitiveness and love of winning. But, Fleury being Fleury, he handled that situation with incredible grace and professionalism. «We always say that nothing happens for nothing. For me, it was a very nice experience in Chicago. Of course I would have liked to do better, to be in the playoffs with them and to have helped them a little more. But I'm happy where I am right now.»
We're happy, too, as being a part of the 2nd in the Central Division Minnesota Wild allows him to keep his playoff streak alive - 16 consecutive years - making him the only athlete across all of pro sports to hold this record. Plus, 935 games under his belt, playing one more season would see him catch Curtis Joseph (943 games), Ed Belfour (963 games) and maybe even Terry Sawchuk (971 games), allowing him to move from his current 7th place for most games to 4th, behind his idols, Patrick Roy (1029), Roberto Luongo (1044) and Martin Brodeur (1266).
Will Fleury's return see him another year in Minnesota? That we don't know for sure. It will most definitely require conversations with his family to figure out what's best for them. Right now, they're still in Chicago, and there's a lot of travel back and forth. But one thing is for sure, our favorite Flower will continue to grow for «at least» one more year.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1052568105671724
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How much longer do you want to see the Flower play? | ||
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| 5 years | 53 | 57 % |
| Forever | 23 | 24.7 % |
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