(St. Paul, Minnesota) Marcus Foligno knows Marc-André Fleury well, apparently.
On October 17, in the moments following the Minnesota Wild’s victory at the Bell Center, Fleury was giving an interview to RDS when Foligno came from behind to cover his face with beard cream.
A few minutes later in the locker room, Foligno had no illusions. “I’m screwed for the rest of the season,” said the veteran.
He considered himself a dead man – figuratively speaking, of course – because Fleury is known for his bad moves. And in fact…
Foligno therefore tasted the methods of hockey’s most famous prankster. And he is convinced that he is not the last. “Brandon Duhaime is next. In his intermission interview of Tuesday’s game, he said Flower is like 50 years old. He’s definitely his next target! »
John Hynes is probably not the most popular coach among Fleury fans. Earlier this week, the Wild’s new head coach assigned Filip Gustavsson to face the Penguins, in what may very well have been Fleury’s final visit to Pittsburgh as an active player.
Then, on Thursday, we learned that this same Gustavsson will face the Habs in the evening, depriving Fleury of a possible last opportunity to play against his childhood team.
If Fleury was demoralized, nothing showed in training. He moved with his usual enthusiasm, struggling to stop each puck. At the very start of the session, Fleury and Gustavsson took turns facing shots from Duhaime. When it was Gustavsson’s turn, Fleury watched everything closely, then on Duhaime’s last shot, the Sorelois threw his stick to make him miss his shot. Was this the famous revenge Foligno spoke of? Who knows.
“As soon as he can tease us, by throwing pucks at our skates, throwing a stick or giving us little jabs, he always does it,” confirms Duhaime.
So heartbreaking decisions like that of Monday or that of Thursday, there will be a few. “It sure would have been fun to play perhaps one last time in Pittsburgh,” Fleury admitted in an interview with Quebec journalists on Thursday noon. But it’s still a “maybe”. It’s hockey, the coach said I was starting the next game and I was happy to play in Boston. I didn’t make a big deal out of it. »
Fleury is 39 years old and his contract expires at the end of the season. It is normal that his future arouses interest. His 40-save performance against the mighty Bruins on Tuesday, however, was a reminder that he still has gas in the tank, even if his stats (5-5-2, 3.26 GAA, .892 save) are not at their usual level.
“I can’t believe it’s his last year,” said teammate Duhaime. I don’t know what he said to the media. But look how he played last game. I can’t imagine him stopping. »
3 games from the 1000 plateau, 2 victories from Patrick Roy’s 551 in 2nd place, Fleury will remain in the news in the coming weeks. But he does not want to comment on his future beyond this season. However, he admits that the travel, the day after a match, “going to bed at 3 a.m.”, is sometimes difficult.
In the meantime, he still has pleasure. “It’s one of the things I’m going to miss the most. Former players often say it, it’s the spirit of the locker room that you miss. It’s fun, coming to the arena every morning, having a good gang of guys, good chemistry. When you win, it’s even easier. »