At the end of the day, when all is said and done, Marc-Andre Fleury will go down as one of the greatest goaltenders to ever pull the pads on in the National Hockey League, and with that in mind, MAF accomplished two things recently that very few goaltenders can brag about.
The 39-year-old, who is competing in his twentieth season and third with the Minnesota Wild, has become the seventh goaltender in Minnesota history to reach fifty wins in a season, and even more impressively, he is only the second active goaltender to reach fifty wins with three different teams. Fleury accomplished this feat while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights as well. Surprisingly, the only other active goaltender to win fifty games with three other teams was Frederik Andersen, who experienced this while playing for the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.
There is no question that MAF will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and his longevity is only one of the various things to marvel at about his career. Fleury was not only a fierce competitor during his career but also the ultimate professional and, by all accounts, the best teammate.
With his career nearing an end, Fleury should and will be celebrated for what he brought to the game and to the National Hockey League. At the end of the day, it's easy to admit that there will be no one like Marc Andre Fleury.
