Fleury could face Knights again, says ‘next year will be the last’

Marc-Andre Fleury might not have played his final game at T-Mobile Arena after all.

The former Golden Knights star goaltender signed a one-year contract extension worth $2.5 million with the Minnesota Wild, the team announced Wednesday. That means the 39-year-old’s Hall of Fame career will continue for one more season. Fleury did say “the next year will be the last” in a video the Wild posted to X.

“Grateful to keep doing what I love for one more season,” Fleury said. “I feel very lucky to do it for one more year.”

Fleury was in net for Friday’s 7-2 loss to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. He has the second-most wins in NHL history among goaltenders with 561, behind Martin Brodeur’s 691.

Minnesota is Fleury’s fourth team. He was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003 and won three Stanley Cups with the organization before being taken by the Knights in the 2017 expansion draft.

Fleury won over fans in Las Vegas right away. He led the Knights’ magical inaugural season run to the Stanley Cup Final and won the 2021 Vezina Trophy.

Fleury was traded to Chicago during the 2021 offseason and was moved again to Minnesota months later at the trade deadline.

Fleury started the Wild’s loss to the Knights on Friday but received appreciative “Fleury” chants from fans nonetheless. He’s expected to start Minnesota’s season finale against Seattle on Thursday.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.