Marc-André Fleury (born November 28, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Fleury played major junior for four seasons with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, earning both the Mike Bossy Trophy as the league's top prospect and the Telus Cup as the top defensive player in 2003. He joined the Penguins in 2003–04 and during his 13 seasons with the team won Stanley Cup championships in 2009, 2016, and 2017. He received the William M. Jennings Trophy and the Vezina Trophy in 2021. He is the third goaltender to ever reach the 500 victories mark in the NHL, after Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, and the fourth goaltender to reach 1,000 games played, after Roy, Brodeur, and Roberto Luongo.
Fleury played junior ice hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, beginning in 2000–01. After a strong 2002–03 campaign that included a silver medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships and QMJHL Second Team All-Star honours, he was chosen first overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins acquired the first overall pick from the Florida Panthers in a trade that sent the first and 73rd overall picks to the Penguins in exchange for Mikael Samuelsson and the third and 55th picks. He is only the third goalie to be chosen first overall in the NHL draft, after Michel Plasse and Rick DiPietro. Playing four seasons total with Cape Breton, Fleury's jersey number 29 was later retired by the club in his fourth NHL season on January 25, 2008.
Fleury immediately made his NHL debut in 2003–04 as the youngest goaltender in the league at 18 years old (three years younger than the second-youngest, Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders). He appeared in his first NHL game on October 10, 2003, against the Los Angeles Kings, recording an impressive 46-save performance, which included a penalty shot save, in a 3–0 loss. Fleury recorded his first NHL win in his very next start, on October 18, with 31 saves in a 4–3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. His first NHL shutout came on October 30, in a 1–0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Fleury shared time with goaltenders Jean-Sébastien Aubin and Sébastien Caron and lived up to first-overall-pick expectations early, earning Rookie of the Month honours in October with a 2–2–2 record, 1.96 goals against average (GAA) and .943 save percentage. As the season progressed, however, his performance began to sink, mainly due to Pittsburgh's poor defence. The team regularly gave up over 30 shots per game, and rarely managed to become an offensive threat. He was loaned to Team Canada for the 2004 World Junior Championships in December and, upon returning with a second consecutive silver medal, he was sent back to the QMJHL on January 29, 2004. In light of financial difficulties for the franchise, it is believed Fleury's $3 million contract bonus, which he would have potentially received if he stayed and met several performance goals, was a factor in the decision to return him to Cape Breton. To no avail, Fleury offered to forfeit his bonus to remain with the club. Fleury finished the QMJHL season with Cape Breton in a first round elimination and was subsequently assigned to Pittsburgh's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and appeared in two post-season games.
Fleury won two silver medals with Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships. He made his first appearance in 2003 in Halifax. Although Canada was defeated by Russia 3–2 in the gold medal game, Fleury posted a 1.57 GAA and was named the Top Goaltender and tournament MVP.
Internationally, Fleury has represented Canada twice as a junior, winning back-to-back silver medals at the World Junior Championships in 2003 and 2004. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Fleury is known by the nickname "Flower", derived from the English translation of his last name (fleuri means "in bloom", or "in flower", in French).
As NHL play was postponed due to the labour dispute, Fleury continued to play with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2004–05, where he posted a 26–19–4 record, a 2.52 GAA and a .901 save percentage. When NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Fleury started the season once more in the minors, but was quickly called up by Pittsburgh for a game against the Buffalo Sabres on October 10 to replace an injured Jocelyn Thibault. He continued to play between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh until November 28, after which he remained with Pittsburgh. With the Penguins finishing last in the Eastern Conference and allowing a league-worst 316 goals, Fleury recorded a 3.25 GAA and a .898 save percentage. Competing for time with Sébastien Caron and Jocelyn Thibault, Fleury emerged as the Penguins' starting goalie.
On April 9, 2024, the Wild were eliminated from playoff contention, ending Fleury's 17-year playoff streak, as he had last missed the playoffs with Pittsburgh in 2006. On April 17, he signed a 1-year, $2.5 million extension with the Wild.
Fleury compiled a 35–18–7 record in 2008–09 to help the Penguins to a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, entering the 2009 playoffs as the defending Prince of Wales champions. Fleury was a major factor in the first round against the Penguins' intrastate rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. In Game 2 at home, with a 2–1 deficit late in the third, Fleury made a key toe save against Flyers top goal scorer Jeff Carter which was eventually pivotal as the Penguins tied the game late in the 3rd and won late in overtime. After the Flyers won Game 3 comfortably, Fleury once again stole a game for the Penguins in Game 4, stopping 43 shots to keep a surging Flyers line-up at bay and ensure a 3–1 lead. The Flyers won in Pittsburgh in Game 5, but Fleury saved another performance for the final period of Game 6. After initially letting in 3 goals, Fleury did not allow another as the Penguins rallied from a 3–0 deficit to win 5–3. The Penguins went the full distance in the second round against the Washington Capitals. In the deciding game seven, Fleury made a key breakaway glove save early in the contest against Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin, helping the Penguins eliminate Washington by a 6–2 score.
On December 30, 2009, Fleury was named to Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He did not play in the tournament, however, as the goaltending duties were split between Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo, but still received a gold medal as Canada defeated the United States 3–2 in the final.
Fleury married his longtime girlfriend Véronique Larosee in 2012, and the couple have two daughters and a son. She is of Abenaki and Mi'kmaq descent. In November 2023 the NHL forbade Fleury from wearing a custom mask he had had made in honor of his wife's native heritage on his team's Native American Heritage Night. In spite of the threat of fines for himself and the team, he wore the helmet during warm-ups, though he did not start the game.
On November 5, 2014, the Penguins signed Fleury to a four-year extension with an average annual value of $5.75 million. On November 18, 2014, he earned his first shutout against the Montreal Canadiens, making 27 saves for a league-leading fourth shutout of the season, with a final score of 4–0. On November 24, 2014, Fleury recorded his 300th NHL win, becoming the third-youngest and third-fastest player to reach the milestone. On April 11, Fleury recorded his league leading tenth shutout in a 2–0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres to secure the last wild card spot in the East.
On June 21, 2017, with the emergence of Matt Murray, Fleury willingly waived his no trade and no movement clauses to be left exposed by the Penguins for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, where he was subsequently selected by the Vegas Golden Knights. Pittsburgh also traded their second round pick in the 2020 Entry Draft as an incentive for Vegas to select Fleury, in order for the team to be relieved of his nearly $6 million cap hit. He stopped 45 of 46 shots in the Golden Knights' first NHL game, a 2–1 victory over the Dallas Stars. On October 15, 2017, Fleury was placed on Long Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) after taking a knee to the head from Anthony Mantha of the Detroit Red Wings on October 13. He was activated off LTIR on December 10, 2017, after missing 25 games. Fleury was chosen to represent Las Vegas during the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. During the NHL All-Star Weekend, he won the inaugural Save Streak competition where he saved 14 consecutive shootout attempts. On March 12, 2018, against the Philadelphia Flyers, Fleury earned his 400th career win with a final score of 3–2.
Fleury started for the Knights during the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. On April 17, 2018, the Golden Knights were able to secure a 4–0 record over the Los Angeles Kings to sweep the first round of playoffs. On May 6, after Fleury posted a shutout, the Golden Knights were able to move on to the Western Conference finals by beating the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of their playoff series. On May 20, 2018, Fleury led the Golden Knights to a victory over the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference Finals, which allowed Fleury to earn a shot at a fourth Stanley Cup. During the playoffs a Vegas casino created a chocolate sculpture showing him doing a butterfly. Fleury was in goal for each game of the Knights' five game loss to the Washington Capitals in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.
On July 27, 2021, with the Golden Knights in need of salary cap space, Fleury was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for minor league forward Mikael Hakkarainen, making Fleury the first goaltender since Dominik Hašek to be traded as the defending Vezina Trophy winner. According to both Fleury and his agent Allan Walsh, Fleury was not notified by the Golden Knights about the trade, and the two learned about it on Twitter. After being traded, Fleury reportedly contemplated retirement. However, on August 1, Fleury announced that he intended to play for the Blackhawks in the 2021–22 season.
After the team began the season with a historically poor 0–7–2 start that would ultimately lead to the sacking of coach Jeremy Colliton, Fleury recorded his first win as a Blackhawk on November 1, 2021, in a 5–1 win against the Ottawa Senators. On December 9, Fleury reached his 500th win in a shutout against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the third goaltender in NHL history to reach the mark (after Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur). On January 8, 2022, Fleury became the first goaltender in NHL history to beat all 32 teams in a win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
On March 21, 2022, Fleury was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional 2022 second-round pick, which would become a first-round pick if the Wild reached the 2022 Western Conference Final with Fleury winning four games in the process. Bill Guerin, the general manager of the Wild, was formerly a teammate of Fleury's on the Penguins. He made his debut with the team in a March 26 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, backstopping them to a 3–2 overtime victory. After the game a fan threw a bouquet of flowers on the ice. Fleury stated that was the first time that has ever happened.
On July 7, 2022, Fleury opted to forgo free agency and signed a two-year, $7 million contract extension to remain with the Wild. The Wild's decision to extend Fleury caused conflict with Talbot, who was subsequently traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Filip Gustavsson. On October 30, Fleury earned his 62nd shootout win and became the leader in NHL career shootout wins when the Wild defeated the Blackhawks. Gustavsson would outperform Fleury for much of the middle of the season, leading to some speculation as to who would serve as the team's starter. Fleury himself acknowledged his difficulties, assessing that he "been in my head probably too much." His play improved as the Wild headed into March, embarking on a lengthy points streak.
Following the retirement of Craig Anderson in 2023, Fleury is the last active goaltender to have played in the NHL before the 2004–05 lockout, and one of two active players overall (alongside Brent Burns).
On December 31, 2023, Fleury played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming just the fourth goaltender to reach the mark. On January 15, 2024, Fleury became the second-winningest goaltender in NHL history after earning his 552nd win in the Wild's 5–0 victory against the New York Islanders.