The Minnesota Wild didn’t gain any ground in the Central Division during their three-game New York road trip, which ended with 4-1 and 3-2 losses against the Rangers and Sabres, respectively, after a 4-2 win against the Islanders to begin the trip.
The same can’t be said for 38-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury, who continues to climb in the NHL goalie record books. Fleury made 27 saves in the Wild’s win Tuesday over the Islanders and added 24 more saves against the Rangers.
Fleury passed Patrick Roy for third in saves in NHL history inside Madison Square Garden Thursday, a milestone overshadowed by the Wild’s loss.
Fleury now has 25,808 saves to his name, which he’s accumulated during his 20-season career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks and the Wild.
Fleury has made 1,712 saves so far in Minnesota in parts of three seasons since Chicago traded the Hall of Fame lock to the Wild in March of 2022 at the NHL trade deadline. Only Martin Brodeur (28,928) and Roberto Luongo (28,409) have more saves than Fleury.
Before the season, Fleury said he would evaluate his future once the year is over.
“I thought about it this summer and stuff, but I just told myself I would give myself this season, see how it goes, see how I feel physically, mentally, if I still can stop the puck and just make a decision at the end,” Fleury said.
“I don’t want to think about it too much, every game, ‘You know, oh, it’s going good, I’ll play again,’ or, ‘It’s going bad, I don’t wanna play anymore.’ You know what I mean? There will be ups and downs this season. I’ll try to get through it and make a decision at the end.”
Fleury (547) is only five wins away from passing Roy (551) for second all-time in wins behind Brodeur at 691.
Fleury is in the final year of his two-year contract worth $3.5 million annually. Filip Gustavsson and him have formed a strong 1-2 punch in goal, and the veteran netminder will need to continue being a reliable presence between the pipes if the Wild are to make the playoffs for a fifth straight year.
While Fleury has a .898 save percentage through seven games, much of it can be attributed to the Wild's poor defensive play early this season.
Fleury has kept them in games (a .929 save percentage or higher in four games) and has made a number of vintage saves so far this season.