DENVER – The prank war between Marc-Andre Fleury and Brandon Duhaime that spanned more than half the season and two teams is finally over.
For Marc-Andre Fleury and Brandon Duhaime, prank war reaches an apex and final truce
It started with quips about Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury being advanced in age and ended with former teammate and current Avalanche forward Brandon Duhaime’s car missing tires and buried in dirt.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
April 10, 2024 at 12:48AM
Duhaime issued the white flag after the former Wild forward left Avalanche practice Monday at Ball Arena and discovered his vehicle propped up on cinder blocks, a flower garden on the hood and two tires chained to the fence.
“I’m done,” Duhaime said.
This showdown was Duhaime’s doing.
He praised Fleury’s performance at 50 years old not once but twice in a TV interview during the Wild’s Dec. 19 victory at Boston — Fleury is 39.
A couple of days later, Duhaime’s dress shirt went missing. Then after the holidays, Duhaime was spotted in white boots instead of his usual shoes.
Although the Wild traded Duhaime to Colorado on March 7, that didn’t stop him from seeking revenge.
When the Avalanche played at Xcel Energy Center last Thursday, Duhaime toilet papered Fleury’s vehicle.
“Pretty on the spot, to be honest,” Duhaime said of the idea. “I didn’t have many resources. I kind of had to piece it together pretty quick.”
Duhaime figured the goalie would retaliate, and the schedule certainly worked in Fleury’s favor: The Wild take on Colorado on Tuesday night, but the team arrived in Denver after their 4-0 victory over Chicago on Sunday.
So, after picking up supplies at Home Depot, Fleury went to work.
“My Uber driver wasn’t impressed by me, maybe,” Fleury said. “But still very helpful.”
Not only were all four tires removed — the other two were tucked under the vehicle — but there was a note on the windshield that said Duhaime could get the keys for the lock and tools to put the tires back on if he sent an apology video.
“You would think [security] would buckle down, take care of their own,” Duhaime said. “But, no, they let him in.”
(”They’re doing their job, but they got busy with something else,” Fleury said. “We took advantage.”)
Fleury did receive a video — “It could have been more sincere,” he said — and the two also hashed out the situation in person; they were among a group that went to eat Monday night, and Fleury paid for Duhaime’s steak dinner.
“I owed him dinner since his time with us,” Fleury said. “I pay my dues.”
Duhaime’s vehicle was still at the arena Tuesday morning, with the winger getting a ride to the Avalanche’s morning skate.
The team has a day off Wednesday, and that’s when Duhaime plans to re-attach the tires.
“I’ll probably have to pay someone to do it or hire someone,” he said. “Should be expensive.”
Duhaime is convinced Fleury had help pulling off this prank.
“It definitely wasn’t a solo-man job,” said Duhaime, who claimed Fleury had inside and outside sources. “I don’t think he could change a tire, to be honest with you.”
“I can’t change a tire?” Fleury said in response. “I can. He can’t. That’s his problem right now.”
As for an accomplice, Fleury identified him as “a fine gentleman” who helped him through the process, and those are the type of hijinks Fleury, a well-known jokester, prefers — the spoofs that require time and teamwork.
“This one, I think, it’s probably on top of the list,” he said.
Duhaime might have started the war, but Fleury finished it.
“He got me,” Duhaime said. “I’ll tip my hat to him.”
Coach John Hynes called the free-agent acquisition “a reliable two-way player,” but the offensive part of his game has yet to emerge with his new team.
