
This evening, Marc-André Fleury is making his final appearance at the Bell Centre in his career. The goaltender, who will retire at the end of the season, asked the Wild to play tonight’s game.
It’s understandable that for him, playing one last time in Montreal was important.
Of course, we know that the goaltender is loved in Montreal, and we expected to see the fans give him a dose of love…
And that’s what happened during the national anthem.
At the end of the Canadian anthem, Fleury was shown on the big screen… and the fans started to applaud and chant Fleury’s name. A beautiful moment.
Great ovation for Marc-André Fleury during the national anthem!
pic.twitter.com/0daZrjvxdz
— RDS (@RDSca) January 31, 2025
It should be noted that the Canadiens did not necessarily prepare a small tribute video to be aired during the national anthem (as they had done for Patrick Roy, for example). That said, the cameras featured him on the big screen… and the fans understood the message.
In an interview with Renaud Lavoie before the game, Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, confirmed that no less than 100 people in the goaltender’s entourage are present at the Bell Centre tonight. I imagine those people must have been touched as well.
Check out the generous interview that Marc-André Fleury’s agent gave to @renlavoietva https://t.co/uySCu1WXf5
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) January 30, 2025
We expected to see Fleury honored during his last game at the Bell Centre… and the fans settled that before the game started.
Overtime
It is quite rare to see an opposing player honored in such a way at the Bell Centre. Usually, when a player from another team elicits a reaction from the crowd, it’s often boos…