Marc-Andre Fleury has already made up his mind. Even if he stops 15 shots without giving up a goal in his one period of play in the Pittsburgh Penguins preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sept. 27, Fleury still won’t consider a full-time return to the NHL.
“I’m still retired,” Fleury said in a phone interview with LNH.com from his home in Minnesota on Friday.
The former goalie will don the mask and pads for one final brief appearance with the Penguins, who gave him a professional tryout contract (PTO) on Friday.
“I’ll play a period against the Blue Jackets and I’ll practice twice with the Penguins,” the 40-year-old said. “At my age, that’s more than enough.”
Fleury will get a chance to return to where it all began, playing for the team that selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, and with whom he won the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016, 2017). The native of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, nevertheless rejects the idea that he signed the PTO in order to retire as a Penguin.
“I don’t like to say that I’m retiring as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Fleury said. “I don’t want to disrespect the Minnesota Wild. I played my last game with them. I signed my last contract with them. They did a lot for me.
“I wanted to go back where it all began. I see it as a wink to my past. I’ll wear the Penguins jersey one last time and I’ll see some old teammates and friends again. It’s a way to come full circle.”
One should certainly expect Fleury’s old Penguins teammates Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang to be on the ice at PPG Paints Arena for the occasion.
Even though current Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas missed the entirety of Fleury’s 13 seasons in Pittsburgh from 2003-17, he was the mastermind behind Fleury’s return on Sept. 27.
“It was Kyle Dubas’ idea,” Fleury said. “He talked to me when I came back from the (2025 IIHF) World Championships with Sid and the Canadian team. I didn’t expect that kind of offer. At the end of the season, I was hurting pretty much everywhere. I needed some time to think about it. I’m a proud guy, I still want to have a good game.
“I’d asked him to let me think about it over the summer. I was a little hesitant. I talked to him again about a week ago and I said yes. I haven’t worked out too much this summer. I’ve only practiced a single time. I don’t want to look like an idiot out there. But it’s still a chance to come back and play with the boys and have some fun.”
Fleury is the Penguins all-time leader in games played (691), wins (375) and shutouts (44). His 2.58 goals-against average is first and his .912 save-percentage is second among Pittsburgh goalies with a minimum of 100 games played.
He is also first among Penguins goalies in Stanley Cup Playoff games (115), wins (62) and shutouts (10).
“I’ll be skating between now and the 27th,” he said. “I haven’t been working out, but it’s not like I have a beer gut. I’m still in good shape. I’m more worried about the timing and the speed of the game after taking all this time off.”
Fleury won’t be traveling solo from Minnesota to Pittsburgh for the game. His wife, Veronique, and their three children will accompany him, while his mother, France, and his sister, Marylene, will also make the trip from Montreal.
“The Penguins did everything with class, they invited everyone for me,” Fleury said. “I’m really touched by that gesture.”
Fleury is second in NHL history in victories (575), games played (1,051) and time on ice (60,669:03) after playing 21 seasons with the Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks and Wild.
He finished last season 14-9-1 with a 2.93 GAA, .899 save percentage and one shutout in 26 games (22 starts) for the Wild and is 575-339-97 with a 2.60 GAA, .912 save percentage and 76 shutouts in his NHL career.
Now, all that is left for him to accomplish is to survive 20 minutes of a preseason game against the Blue Jackets.
The task might not be so simple, however, as Fleury freely admits that he expects to experience a wide range of emotions.
“Yeah, I’ll probably get emotional,” he said. “I expect it to happen just going back into the dressing room and seeing my locker again. I’ll have the same routine that I had back in the day with the Penguins. I’ll still want to play well, though; I don’t want to look like a fool out there. But at the same time, the fans know that I’m retired now.”
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