By: Justin Gincauskas
Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made NHL history Monday as he passed Patrick Roy for second all-time in wins. The Wild shut out the New York Islanders 5-0 to secure Fleury’s 552nd career NHL win.
Fleury tied Roy for the second most wins on Jan. 6 after a 4-3 overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He went 0-1-1 in his next two starts before finally passing Roy on Monday.
“Finally, right? It’s been a little rough lately,” said Fleury after getting his 552nd win. “I wish we could have done this a little while ago, right? But I think everybody knows, everyone in this room, that we try to work our best and try to win games, climb our way back, right, and tonight that was a great game against a good team and we got that one.”
“I came in, my dream was to play in the NHL. I was so happy to play that first game. From then on, it was just one game at a time, one win at a time, trying to win the next one. I’ve been very fortunate to play with really great teams, great teammates, people that helped me stay healthy, right, throughout the journey. It feels crazy to be here now.”
Fleury was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Draft. He won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins, which included going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. Fleury won the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in 2021.
Fleury Behind Only Martin Brodeur
With 552 wins to his name, Marc-Andre Fleury is now behind only Martin Brodeur for the most wins in NHL history. At 39 years old, it is a longshot, to say the least, that Fleury will catch up to Brodeur’s 691 career wins.
“I’ll need 15 more years,” Fleury joked of reaching Brodeur. “I think it’s good. It’s good to have goals. I think for me the last couple years, right, I’ve been playing for a while but it’s something I always wanted to win the next game, but personally trying to get some games played, some wins, right? I think it’s fun to catch up to some of these guys and I always loved goalies growing up, so I have so much respect for guys that played before me and it’s an honor not just for Patrick but for the other guys I was able to catch up with.”
Fleury has played 1,007 games in his NHL career, the fourth most all-time. He is 23 games away from passing Roy for third all-time and 38 away from passing Roberto Luongo for second.
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