Marc-André Fleury

He earned his 40th win in a 2–1 victory over the New York Rangers in the season finale, joining Tom Barrasso as the only Penguins goaltenders to record 40 wins in a season.

He also broke Johan Hedberg's single season franchise record for most games and minutes played.

Fleury made his NHL playoff debut against the Ottawa Senators, the eventual Stanley Cup finalists, in the first round and recorded his first playoff win in Game 2, recording 34 saves in a 4–3 win at Scotiabank Place.

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.

Marc-André Fleury (born November 28, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

As a youth, Fleury played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the College-Français Rive-Sud minor ice hockey team from South Shore, Montreal.

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.

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.

Internationally, Fleury has represented Canada twice as a junior, winning back-to-back silver medals at the World Junior Championships in 2003 and 2004.

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.

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.

Despite playing behind a shaky defense, Fleury was able to impress the team management with his technique and performance and signed a two-year contract extension worth $2.59 million in the off-season.

In the proceeding campaign, Fleury's stats improved significantly.

Playing behind a better Penguins team, which featured rising superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, he recorded five shutouts and a 2.83 GAA.

Fleury started the 2007–08 season slowly, then won four straight games before suffering a high-ankle sprain against the Calgary Flames on December 6.

He returned as a starter on March 2, after a brief conditioning stint in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

While sidelined, he decided to change the colour of his goaltending equipment from the bright yellow that had become his signature to plain white, to gain an optical advantage over shooters.

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.

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).

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).