Minnesota Wild Head Coach Breaks Silence on why he Benched Marc-Andre Fleury in his Final Regular Season Game
Photo credit: NHL.com
The Minnesota Wild started Filip Gustavsson in Saturday's game against the Vancouver Canucks despite initially expecting to start Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Minnesota Wild gave goaltender Filip Gustavsson the start during Saturday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The initial plan, according to head coach John Hynes, was to give soon-to-be-retired goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury what would be the final regular season start of his career.
Despite several of Fleury's friends making the trip to Vancouver to see what would have been his final regular season start, Hynes said that Fleury is a veteran and understands the situation.
He understands the situation. Obviously, he knew when we took Gus out last night what the situation was going to be, and I give him credit. He was great. He popped in. He made a couple saves for us. It was nice to see. He's the ultimate team guy.
In a show of class prior to Fleury's entering the game against the Flames, the crowd at the Scotiabank Saddledome gave him a standing ovation as a proper send off in his final appearance in the historic venue.
Fleury announced his intentions that this would be his last year in the NHL; he began his career as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003 after being taken with the 1st overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
He led the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup; his name appears on the Cup 3 total times, thanks to Pittsburgh's wins in 2016 and 2017. He then took his talents to the Vegas Golden Knights, where he played until he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021.
At the 2022 Trade Deadline, he was dealt to the Wild, where he has remained since.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 13 | 298 ANSWERS Minnesota Wild Head Coach Breaks Silence on why he Benched Marc-Andre Fleury in his Final Regular Season Game Should Marc-Andre Fleury be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame? | ||
| Yes | 289 | 97 % |
| No | 9 | 3 % |
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