For Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, it’s one last hurrah in Montreal

TORONTO – Marc-Andre Fleury mostly watched the Canadiens on TV as a kid.

He didn’t live near the arena, growing up an hour outside of Montreal, and “tickets aren’t cheap,” he said. “It was cheaper back then, too.”

But Fleury visited plenty as he got older, albeit with a different allegiance that put him smackdab in the middle of the action.

Fleury will play his 22nd game at Bell Centre on Thursday night when the Wild’s road trip continues vs. the Canadiens. The game should be the goaltender’s final appearance in Montreal during his farewell season, and based on past receptions, this sendoff could be the most heartfelt yet.

“Always feel such an honor to play on their ice,” Fleury said Wednesday in Toronto. “Yeah, it’ll be very special, for sure.”

His first start last season was at Montreal and, since it was unclear at the time when Fleury was planning to retire, the Bell Centre crowd gave him a standing ovation after he backstopped the Wild to victory.

He was also saluted on Dec. 9, 2021, when he shut out the Canadiens for his 500th career win, with fans chanting his name. But Fleury’s connection to Montreal and Quebec predates the future Hall of Famer’s career, which includes a 12-6-3 record at Bell Centre.

Canadiens legend and Hall of Famer Patrick Roy was his favorite, and that’s who Fleury pretended to be when he played hockey as a youngster in the basement and on the outdoor rink.

In 1993, when Montreal hoisted the Stanley Cup, Fleury’s dad, Andre, woke him up to watch the celebration.

After getting drafted first overall to the NHL in 2003, Fleury went on to achieve three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh and kick-start an expansion franchise in Vegas before Chicago traded him to the Wild, where he’s continued to rewrite the record book. But all of that came after his upbringing here.

Fleury will have more than 100 family members and friends in attendance Thursday, including his wife, Veronique; their children, Estelle, Scarlett and James; his mom, France; and sister, Marylene.

“It’s the city where you’re from, and people want to appreciate you or my career,” Fleury said. “The support I’ve gotten, obviously from my family and my friends through the good, through the bad, and to be home and have a cheer like that like last season definitely brings some emotions and goosebumps.”

Earlier this season, Fleury was honored when the Wild played their only regular-season game in Pittsburgh and Vegas acknowledged him, too.

But most days, Fleury tries not to think about time and where he’s at on the calendar.

This has been a solid season for him as the Wild’s backup to Filip Gustavsson, Fleury going 10-5-1 with a 2.76 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. Earlier this month, he nabbed his 66th career shootout victory against Washington and longtime competitor Alex Ovechkin to extend his NHL record.

He also hit the 10-win mark for the 20th time Jan. 20 at Colorado to tie Martin Brodeur for the most in league history, this after Fleury reached 1,000 games and passed Roy for the second-most wins all-time last season.

At 1,042 career games, he’s two away from tying Roberto Luongo for second.

“It’s crazy how it goes by,” said Fleury, who also moved past Roy (who coaches the New York Islanders) for second place in minutes played during his last start. “It’s a good reminder to enjoy every day, take it in, go one day at a time, don’t think too far ahead, enjoy that day, try to make the most out of it.”

Fleury isn’t second-guessing his decision to retire, which he announced last April in conjunction with re-signing a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Wild.

The 40-year-old still feels good, but he thinks he’ll be ready to be done after he’s played his last game.

In the meantime, he still relishes diving around the crease and is like a kid again when he gets new gear.

“I still love to play, love to compete with the guys,” Fleury said. “I feel very fortunate I’ve been able to do this for so long. It’s the best job in the world, so I feel very lucky for that and to be able to go on my terms, too, it’s not something many guys can do.

“So, yeah, I feel very fortunate.”

Thursday, 6 p.m., Bell Centre

TV; radio: FanDuel Sports Network North; 100.3 FM

Game preview: The Canadiens are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race with many of their division rivals, but they’ve struggled lately. Montreal has dropped three in a row, most recently losing 4-1 to Winnipeg on Tuesday. This is the team’s longest skid since a six-game rut in October and November. Former Wisconsin Badger LW Cole Caufield has a team-high 25 goals, his 47 points second on the team only to C Nick Suzuki’s 51. G Jakub Dobes, who is 5-0-1 with a 1.93 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, is scheduled to start.

Injuries: Wild D Jonas Brodin (lower body), LW Marcus Johansson (concussion) and LW Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) are out. Canadiens D Kaiden Guhle (lower body) and LW Emil Heineman (upper body) are out.