LAS VEGAS – Over the past century, stories abound about people coming to this spot in the southern Nevada desert and starting something that grew and prospered, although usually those tales are all about casinos and magic shows.
Marc-Andre Fleury came to Las Vegas and got in on the ground floor of what sounded like a crazy idea, which blossomed into a massive success. But the idea of NHL hockey in this desert valley was born less than a decade ago, when Fleury arrived here as part of the expansion draft that created the Golden Knights. In their magical inaugural season of 2017-18, Fleury backstopped their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final (they eventually lost to Washington) and is renowned as a Knights’ legend even today.
Although he did not get the start for the Minnesota Wild for Sunday’s game versus Vegas, Fleury was greeted by a throng of media before the contest – which is his last scheduled game at T-Mobile Arena, after the veteran announced his retirement after this season.
“There were a lot of questions coming in, thinking ‘Are we gonna win any games?’ and ‘Are people gonna like it?’” Fleury recalled of his arrival in Vegas when the team was being assembled from scratch. “It turned out for the best. It’s an organization that players want to come play for, and they’ve obviously had a lot of success, winning the Cup not long ago. That was the goal, and I’m happy they were able to succeed in it.”
Between 2017 and 2021, Fleury made 192 appearances in the Knights’ crease, going 117-60-14 with 23 shutouts. More than one Knights fan at Sunday’s game wore his replica jersey, in honor of the franchise’s first puck-stopping star.
Fleury was playing for the Wild by the spring of 2023 when Adin Hill backstopped Vegas to its first Stanley Cup win. As the first pro franchise to call Las Vegas its home (they have since added a WNBA team, and the NFL’s Raiders moved from Oakland in 2020) the Knights have a special place in the hearts of sports fans in this boomtown. And with low taxes and year-round sunshine, Vegas has become a hockey free agent destination. Fleury said he and his family have considered making Nevada their permanent home post-retirement, but he admitted on Sunday that his plans for life after hockey are still up in the air.
As for being back in the rink that Knights fans call “The Fortress” one more time, Fleury admitted that Vegas will always produce happy memories.
“It was only four years, but it seemed like we went through a lot in those four years, to start from scratch with the team, going to the Finals and all that stuff, I’ll always keep great memories from my time here,” he said.
Manpower update
While they did not make the trip to the west, Wild coach John Hynes said that forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko are both skating and they are being evaluated back in Minnesota as the two try to re-join the lineup. Defensemen Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber also missed the trip, and their status is day to day.
“(Faber) and (Brodin), I’m not sure what they’re doing today, but both are getting treatments and we’ll have to see where they’re at,” Hynes said following the team’s morning skate, prior to their 3-1 win in San Jose on Saturday.
He added that team captain Jared Spurgeon has begun “hard physical activity off the ice” as he works to return from a lower-body injury suffered on New Years’ Eve.
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