LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights paid tribute to one of the franchise’s founding players on Thursday as he ends his storied career.
The team recognized Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury following Vegas’ 3-2 win over the Wild in a series-clinching Game 6.
Several Golden Knights players shared lengthy embraces with the veteran net-minder on the handshake line and stayed on the ice to deliver stick taps as he headed to the locker room.
Fleury, 40, has said he would retire after the 2024-25 season, closing a 22-year NHL career that is a virtual lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Golden Knights selected Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, from Pittsburgh in the 2017 expansion draft. He quickly became the face of the franchise and helped lead the team to a Stanley Cup Final appearance in the inaugural season.
Over four seasons with Vegas, he appeared in 192 games and compiled a 117-60 record. For the 2021 season, he won the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top goaltender, and the Jennings Trophy, which goes to the goalie who allows the fewest goals.
After that season, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in what proved to be a controversial move to clear cap space.
Allan Walsh, Fleury’s agent, said his client learned about the trade as news broke on social media. The Golden Knights also waived the player they received in exchange, Mikael Hakkarainen, three weeks after the deal.
Fleury played one season for Chicago before signing with Minnesota in 2022.
Vegas honored Fleury in January when the Wild played the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena during the regular season.
He appeared in just one game of the first-round playoff series between the two teams, spending about 24 minutes on the ice in relief of Filip Gustavsson in the Golden Knights’ Game 5 win on Tuesday.