If it was his last match in Montreal, Marc-André Fleury would have taken full advantage of it.
First on the ice, by signing the 545th victory of his career, his 27th against the Canadian, not without having achieved some gems, we will come back to that.
Then, after the match, by being generous with his time. He greeted the crowd twice rather than once, before giving an interview to Minnesota television, then to RDS. During this interview, his mischievous Wild teammate Marcus Foligno came to him with the towel covered in shaving cream. A fair return of things for Fleury, renowned for his bad shots.
“I’m screwed for the rest of the season! “, launched Foligno.
Once in the locker room, the Sorelois gave two long press scrums, one in French, the other in English. The atmosphere was light. It was clear when colleague Jeremy Filosa, who was arriving from the Canadian locker room, arrived at the end of the interview. Filosa apologized for being late before attempting his first question. “Hey tab***,” Fleury retorted, pretending to look at his invisible watch, before answering his questions. Not all athletes have this generosity, especially when they are expected.
Because expected, it was. A few friends showed up in the locker room. Among them, former players Maxime Talbot, Bruno Gervais and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Fleury then headed towards the only section of the stands at the Bell Center where there was still a soul alive. A good fifty relatives were waiting for him there.
Players at the end of their career are often told that they must adapt their style in order to survive. But with his spectacular lateral movements, his glove stop, his other stop with the superimposed pads (the famous “pad stack” from the Bill Ranford era) against Johnathan Kovacevic, the Quebecer did not exactly look like the dean NHL goalies. This is without forgetting the fact that he was making his first start of the season!
“I try to follow the beat of the game, but sometimes I do moves that show my age! Young people do it less. I still have fun coming out of stops like that. »
“By making that save, he turned a negative into a positive,” Foligno noted. A player escaped us, then he makes this save, so all of a sudden, we come out with more enthusiasm than the team that just had a chance to score. That’s the kind of thing he does, and it’s special to be a part of. »
As he enters the final year of his contract and turns 39 in November, questions about his future will follow him all season.
“I feel my age, I would say! he admits. Sometimes the next mornings are rougher than they used to be. I try to take care of my body, I have help from the team therapists, I try to stay flexible, stay mobile and get the rest I need to recover. »
Still, the signs of a career ending are everywhere, from his time spent greeting everyone to his surprisingly brief presence on the ice when he was named first star.
“I didn’t want to drag on, I wanted it to be done quickly. I wanted to keep a photo in my head. I will remember this moment. I have always been a Canadiens fan and I was happy to hear people applaud me.
“It’s been a long time since I played a match. You have to take back the beat of the match. Knowing I had a lot of family and friends, I wanted to enjoy the day, but you always enjoy it more in a victory. It was important to win. »
Mission accomplished.