Latest news with #MarcAndreFleury
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Golden Knight Marc-Andre Fleury Celebrates Retirement
Marc-Andre Fleury, a beloved figure from the Golden Knights' inaugural season, officially celebrated his retirement from the NHL this past weekend. 'Flower' as he is more affectionately known, spent 21 seasons in the league, and is the second-winningest goalie in NHL history, with 575 career wins. He won three Stanley Cup Championships along the way with his first team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following that, he became a key component in taking the Knights to their first Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, forever placing himself in the hearts of fans across the desert. Fleury earned himself the Vezina trophy in his 2020-21 season with the Knights having a 26-10-0 record, .928 save percentage, 1.98 goals-against average, and 6 shutouts. Over those four seasons in Las Vegas he played in 192 games and came out victorious in 117 of them. Though Fleury was eventually traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, his connection to Las Vegas never wavered. 'Fleury 29' jerseys remained a staple among fans at T-Mobile Arena, a testament to the legacy he left. Fleury's 500th career win, a 27-save shutout in his hometown of Montreal, came while wearing a Blackhawks jersey, making him just the third goalie in NHL history to reach that milestone. He closed out his career with the Minnesota Wild, mentoring younger players and still delivering his signature acrobatic performances. His final game fittingly was against Vegas during last season's playoff run. Fleury's wife, Véronique, hosted a retirement gala bringing together NHL stars past and present to celebrate her husband's impressive career that spans four franchises. With Fleury hanging up his pads for good, the anticipated future Hockey Hall of Famer leaves behind a history of a great game—and an even greater heart behind it.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Top 25 Penguins Prospects, 16-20; A Big Goalie and Serious Depth
For the first time in Pittsburgh Penguins' recent history, there are enough prospects to fill an entire Prospects Tournament roster without calling upon college depth players, minor leaguers, and deep long shots. In fact, the PHN Top 25 Penguins prospect list started at No. 25 and has a handful of honorable mentions. Read No. 20-25 and honorable mention prospects here. As we get into the top 20 prospects, there are immediately a few names who are already on the NHL radar. In regard to building depth, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has done an extraordinary job of piling up the prospects. Whether or not he and his team, led by vice president of player personnel Wes Clark, have selected the right players in trade and draft is another matter. And sadly, hindsight and 'I told you so's' will be prevalent. However, the Penguins don't need 25 prospects to hit. They need a few handfuls to reach premium potential and a handful to reach their expected ceiling. Of course, 13 draft picks in the 2025 NHL Draft are a good start. From a sheer mathematics perspective, the team should hit on one or two surprises to offset the flops. Penguins Prospect Rankings, Nos. 16-20 D'Aigle, 18, is a large, athletic goalie working his way with a terrible team in the QMJHL. Even he admitted to PHN, 'When we win, I have to play a great game.' He has worked and trained with Penguins legend Marc-Andre Fleury, and he shares some traits, good and bad. His athleticism was immediately noticeable in the Development Camp. For a 6-foot-4, 202-pound goalie, he moves like a cat. Clark told the assembled media following the draft that 'Sir Jon Elkin,' the Penguins' organizational goalie coach, was very high on D'Aigle and no one argued. The Penguins selected D'Aigle in the third round. However, the left-catching goalie's game is a bit of a mess. His angles were well off during camp, and he gave up goals in drills and scrimmage that should have been easy saves had he been in position. Instead, he was too often a foot wide or a foot to the center, in both examples, leaving too much net for shooters. Yet he also made some highlight reel saves, too. If he puts it together, the Penguins have something special. He's this far down on the list because he has so much work to do, and it will take a few years, at least. The brief product of the Pens Elite program when he was 14 is back home. With family populating the Mt. Lebanon area, he's almost a hometown boy. Trethewey was with the Team USA National Development Team and will go to Boston University in the fall. He's an all-around defenseman whose stockiness will serve him well. At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, he doesn't lack for size, but he will need to sharpen his skating and, as all young defensemen, get better at anticipation. He did not have a standout camp and played far too tentatively in the scrimmage. Perhaps he will evolve into a stay-home defender at the next level, or he just needs a bit more confidence to let both ends of his two-way game fly. It's not always easy coming home. Avery Hayes's younger brother, Hayes, 18, has spunk and tenacity, as well as a rough game that works in his favor. The Penguins' 2025 fifth-round pick has a good relationship with the puck. He controls it well from the middle of the ice, and it finds him when he doesn't have it. He had numerous pokes and chances near the net-front in the 4v4 Development Camp scrimmage. Despite the crowded low zone, the puck had eyes for him, and he knew how to find space. Perhaps the professional scouts will have better verbiage, but he showed that he could be a solid organization depth piece. He's a center now, but in the long run, he could potentially show up at PPG Paints Arena as a bottom-six winger. Peddle, 18, was one of the Penguins' 2025 third-round picks (91st overall). He's a 6-foot-3, 203-pound angry defenseman who isn't afraid to inflict a bruise … or three. Peddle isn't a standout performer, so his performance at the recent Development Camp was somewhat muted. He's a defensive zone defenseman who will play one more season at Waterloo of the USHL before heading to Michigan State for the 2026-27 season. Already the third right-handed defenseman on our list, Vaisanen is the quintessential under-the-radar, long-term project. He's 20 years old from Espoo, Finland, but has played only one season of junior hockey (in the USHL), followed by one season with the Penguins Central HQ: Michigan Tech. Vaisanen was the Penguins' sixth-round pick in 2024 and put up a healthy 26 points (4-22-26) in 42 games as a freshman. He seems to have a knack for being in the middle of the play–at Development Camp, when there was a nice little pass or a big play, Vaisanen was at the center of the action. There are a fair number of scouting reports on him, but they all report the same as we saw: He's got a unique game because he does so many things well, including jumping into the play offensively and taking away passing lanes in the defensive zone. If he weren't a sixth-rounder, he'd be pushing the Top 10. There's just a little something about Vaisanen that you should watch. The post Top 25 Penguins Prospects, 16-20; A Big Goalie and Serious Depth appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
Forbes
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Corey Perry And Brent Burns Carry The Torch For 2003 NHL Draft Class
Now in their 40s, Brent Burns and Corey Perry will be continuing their NHL careers with new ... More teams in 2025-26. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) Twenty-two years ago in Nashville, the 2003 NHL draft started off with a bang. With the first selection, the Pittsburgh Penguins made the rare move of selecting a goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury. As it turns out, they weren't wrong. Fleury helped bring three Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh in 2009, 2016 and 2017 and by the time he hung up his pads after playing out his 21st year with the Minnesota Wild in 2024-25, he was widely renowned as one of the best-loved characters in the game and a future Hall of Famer. The numbers don't lie. Fleury sits second all-time among goaltenders in both games played (1,055) and wins (behind only Martin Brodeur). As an original 'Golden Misfit' with the Vegas Golden Knights, he reached the Stanley Cup final in 2017, then won the Vezina Trophy and shared the William Jennings Trophy with Robin Lehner in 2021. Marc-Andre Fleury acknowledges the crowd after his final playoff game in 2025. (Photo by Ellen ...) After a farewell tour around the league last season, Fleury officially announced his retirement on May 6, after the Wild's first-round playoff loss to those same Golden Knights. And while defenseman Ryan Suter has reportedly not yet closed the door on a 21st season of his own after spending last season with the St. Louis Blues, two other stars from the 2003 draft class have signed one-year contracts to chase a championship in new locales. Corey Perry reached the Stanley Cup final with the Edmonton Oilers in 2024 and 2025. (Photo by Steph ...) On July 1, 40-year-old Corey Perry inked a one-year free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Kings. Per PuckPedia, it carries a $2 million base salary and $2 million in potential bonuses based on games played and playoff outcomes. Originally drafted 28th overall by the Kings' geographic rivals, the Anaheim Ducks, Perry won a Stanley Cup in Anaheim in his second NHL season, in 2007. In 2011, he scored 50 goals to win the Rocket Richard trophy and was named the Hart Trophy winner as league MVP. Since Perry was bought out by the rebuilding Ducks in 2019, he has made a name for himself as a bit of a playoff mercenary, signing short-term deals with contending teams in hopes of adding another championship to his trophy case. That hasn't happened yet, but he has come consistently close. In six years since leaving Anaheim, Perry has been to the Stanley Cup final five times with four different teams: the Dallas Stars in 2020, the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 and the Edmonton Oilers in 2024 and 2025. After the Oilers eliminated the Kings in the first round of each of the last three post-seasons, Perry will now see if he can bring his magic to the other side. His latest contract offer came from the same man who originally signed him in Edmonton, new Los Angeles GM Ken Holland. Among his 2003 draft class, Perry now sits third in regular-season games played (1,392) and goals (448) and first in penalty minutes (1,487). His playoff numbers are even more impressive. After his latest run to the final, Perry's 236 playoff games rank him third all-time behind only Chris Chelios (266) and Nicklas Lidstrom (263). These last six years, he has cemented himself as one of hockey's playoff traditions. After winning the 2017 Norris Trophy with the San Jose Sharks, Brent Burns returns to the Western ... More Conference in 2025-26, with the Colorado Avalanche. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images) Then there's Brent Burns, who the Minnesota Wild originally selected as a right winger with the 20th overall pick in 2003. Burns played 36 games with the Wild as an 18-year-old in 2003-04. With Fleury's retirement, he is now the only active player to have played NHL games before the salary cap was instituted following the 2004-05 lockout. Burns made the official switch to defense in 2006. And while he went on to play a handful of additonal games at forward through his career, his blue-line skills blossomed. Between 2016 and 2019, he was named a Norris Trophy finalist three times in four years, and won in 2017. Though he's a big body at 6-foot-5 and 229 pounds, Burns has also proven to be extremely durable. He hasn't missed a game since November of 2013 and is currently the NHL's reigning ironman at 925 consecutive games played — fourth all-time and 139 games behind current record holder Phil Kessel. After signing a new one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche on July 2, Burns will become the 22nd player in NHL history to play in 22 seasons when he hits the ice for his first game this fall. His latest deal carries a $1 million base salary and $4 million in potential bonuses. The first is an easily-attainable $3 million bonus for 10 games played, per PuckPedia — a mechanism that will allow the cap-strapped Avalanche to defer that $3 million to their 2026-27 budget if needed, with the NHL cap ceiling continuing to rise dramatically. The second bonus is $1 million if Burns appears in more than 70 games in 2025-26, and averages more than 23 minutes of ice time. That may seem like a big ask for a 40-year-old, but Burns doesn't miss games and the ice time is just slightly above his career average of 22:22 a night. Assignments of 23+ minutes aren't very far in the rearview mirror, either: he played 23:13 with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022-23. Though Burns doesn't have any specific playoff bonuses in his contract, his new deal with Colorado puts him in a good spot to take another significant run at the Stanley Cup. If Suter doesn't return this fall, Burns will be the longest-tenured active player in the league not to have won. He has reached the Final just once, with the San Jose Sharks in 2016. The 2003 NHL draft has been widely regarded as one of the deepest of all time. Burns and Perry fell to the bottom half of the first round, yet were both selected well ahead of many other terrific talents. That list includes newly enshrined Hall of Famer Shea Weber and longtime Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron, who were both second-round picks. And in the seventh round in 2003, the Sharks selected Joe Pavelski at No. 205. Pavelski also never won a Cup. But when he hung up his skates after the 2024 season, he did it with the most goals (476) and points (1,068) in the entire 2003 NHL draft class. Also an elite golfer, Pavelski had an opportunity to kiss a trophy on Sunday, when he was presented with a crystal chalice after a walk-off eagle gave him first place at the 2025 American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marc-Andre Fleury Makes His Stance on Unretirement Calls Crystal Clear
Marc-Andre Fleury Makes His Stance on Unretirement Calls Crystal Clear originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Former goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's NHL career may be over with his final game being played at the end of last season, but not every team has seemingly accepted it. Advertisement The 40-year-old officially officially retired in early May, effective following the 2024–25 season, which ended with a playoff loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and a brief international stint with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship. According to Fleury's longtime agent, Allan Walsh, five teams called on Tuesday to see if Fleury would consider coming out of retirement. Walsh revealed those calls while appearing on a podcast from SDPN. 'July 1, I got called by five teams asking if there was any way Marc-Andre Fleury would un-retire,' Walsh said. Walsh added that the teams were serious about signing Fleury, so much so that they were willing to offer one-year deals to the agent on the spot in order to convince the goalie to return. Advertisement 'You talked about the goalie market this year,' Walsh said. 'Five teams calling and they were prepared to make serious offers on one-year deals to entice 'Flower' to their city.' Despite completing last season with a .899 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average manning the Minnesota Wild's net, Fleury is still viewed as a viable option in a market starved for goaltending depth. Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) during DeChiara-Imagn Images Even then, the future Hockey Hall of Famer has made his stance clear and remains firm in his decision, as relayed by his agent during the same podcast. 'Well, he's made it pretty clear for now that he has no intention to play next year,' Walsh said. Advertisement Fleury finished his 21-year NHL run by appearing in 1,051 regular-season games and winning 575 of them, the second-most in league history. The netminder went on to win Stanley Cup championships in 2009, 2016 and 2017, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he started his career. After that, he spent the remainder of his career with the Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks and Wild. Related: Marc-Andre Fleury's Agent Responds to NHL Insider's Unretirement Idea Related: Wild GM Reveals Honest Expectations for Kirill Kaprizov's Future This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
CTV News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Oilers hope to join elite group of Stanley Cup champions who rallied in Game 6
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, right, raises the Stanley Cup as he rides along with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup hockey championship with fans on the victory parade route in Pittsburgh, Monday, June 15, 2009. The Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 in game 7, Saturday in Detroit.(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Eight teams in NHL history have won Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final to force a seventh game and gone on to win the championship. The Edmonton Oilers are aiming to become the ninth after falling behind 3-2 to the Florida Panthers. Game 6 is Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla. Here's a look at the teams that have completed the comeback: 1942 – Toronto Maple Leafs The Maple Leafs trailed the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 before winning four straight to claim the Cup. They remain the only team in NHL history to erase a three-game deficit in the final. Toronto took Game 6 by a score of 3-0 and won Game 7 at Maple Leaf Gardens, 3-1. 1950 – Detroit Red Wings The Red Wings stayed alive with a 5-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 6, then captured the Cup with a 4-3 double-overtime victory in Game 7. Pete Babando scored the winner. 1964 – Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime win over Detroit in Game 6, then secured a third straight championship with a 4-0 win in Game 7 on the road. 1971 – Montreal Canadiens The Canadiens forced Game 7 with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, then captured the Cup with a 3-2 win at Chicago Stadium. Rookie goaltender Ken Dryden was named playoff MVP. 2001 – Colorado Avalanche The Avalanche responded to a Game 5 loss by shutting out the New Jersey Devils 4-0 in Game 6. They clinched the title with a 3-1 win in Game 7 in Denver. 2004 – Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay kept its season alive with a 3-2 double-overtime win over the Calgary Flames in Game 6, with Martin St. Louis scoring the winner. The Lightning went on to win their first Cup with a 2-1 victory in Game 7. 2009 – Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 6, then won the Cup with another 2-1 victory in Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. Max Talbot scored both goals in the deciding game. 2011 – Boston Bruins The Bruins forced Game 7 with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, then clinched the series with a 4-0 shutout at Rogers Arena. Boston goaltender Tim Thomas made 37 saves in the deciding game. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. The Canadian Press
