Ex-Penguins star Marc-Andre Fleury opens up on teaming up with Sidney Crosby one last time for Canada’s IIHF Worlds roster

Marc-Andre Fleury still has a little bit of gas left in the tank.

The Minnesota Wild were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night following a Game 6 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Everyone thought that was it for the legendary netminder's professional hockey career. However, Fleury has surprised the hockey world with news that he will be joining Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championships.

This means he'll be reuniting one final time with former Penguins teammate and good friend Sidney Crosby. Fleury and Crosby spent 12 seasons together in Pittsburgh, enjoying tremendous success, which included three Stanley Cup championships and a friendship that will last a lifetime.

TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston shared the news that agent Allan Walsh broke on Monday afternoon on X (formerly Twitter).

"He's not done yet! Flower reunites with Sidney Crosby on Team Canada," Johnston wrote.

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Fleury just completed the lone season on his one-year, $2,500,000 contract extension with the Minnesota Wild, signed in 2024. The 40-year-old was still one of the better backups in the NHL this season, putting up a 14-9-1 record, with a 2.93 goals against average, .899 save percentage, and one shutout.

Marc-Andre Fleury had a funny description of the decision to join Team Canada

In typical Marc-Andre Fleury fashion, he had a hilarious way to describe the decision to play for Canada at the Worlds.

Fleury shared the news with the media on Friday. The Minnesota Wild shared the clip with his comments on X.

"Yeah, after we lost that night, I was like, I'm done, you know. But a couple of days goes by, and I was like, yeah, I think that would be pretty cool... So just a little longer, right? I don't know, I went home, my kids were crazy, I was like jeez, I gotta keep playing again," Fleury said.

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Crazy enough, this will be Marc-Andre Fleury's first World Championship appearance. He will likely be expected to start for Canada, who initially had no NHL experience in the net with Dylan Garand and Carter George.

Team Canada's tournament opening game against Team Slovenia will go down on Saturday, May 10. The puck drops at 6:20 a.m. EST at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

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Edited by Jackson Weber