Fleury stars in Worlds debut: Going to 'enjoy this as much as I can'

Marc-Andre Fleury has racked up numerous accomplishments over his professional hockey career, but he experienced a new first Sunday after making his World Championship debut during Canada's 7-1 rout of Latvia.

The tournament is serving as a fitting conclusion to his 21-year stint in the NHL.

"Every time you wear the Canadian jersey, it's such a great experience and always an honor to be able to play with that jersey on," Fleury said postgame when asked about his decision to play at the Worlds, effectively postponing his retirement by a couple of weeks.

"A chance to play with these guys in the locker room, too, I think was very appealing. I don't know, why not? It's a lot of fun, I'm going to try and enjoy this as much as I can."

Fleury allowed the first goal of the game on Eduards Tralmaks a little more than seven minutes into the contest, but he was perfect the rest of the way, turning aside all seven shots he faced in the second period and six in the third.

All in, he made 16 saves on 17 shots. He was named Canada's player of the game as a result of his efforts.

Fleury stood tall during a particularly adventurous sequence after he turned the puck over from behind his own net.

He also broke out his patented poke check in the final stanza.

"It's fun, it was a little bit of a tough start there, but it was a good time," Fleury said with a smile.

Canadian teammate Travis Konecny is relishing the chance to play with the future Hall of Famer.

"I've never really had a chance to play this close to him, other than when he's stopping me in the NHL," the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. "He's great, I mean, he's a lot of fun to play for. He's always having a good time in there. He makes you feel comfortable."

The tournament is a significant one for Fleury, who is just one first-place World Championship finish away from becoming a member of the Triple Gold Club.

He won three Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009, 2016, and 2017) and captured a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, although he didn't see any playing time.

Fleury played out the 2024-25 NHL campaign with the Minnesota Wild, who were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the opening round. He got one last taste of playoff action in Game 5 when he came in for an ill Filip Gustavsson, making six saves on seven shots in the overtime loss.

Canada also brought Jordan Binnington and Dylan Garand to the Worlds. Binnington was the starter at the 4 Nations Face-Off, while Garand stopped all 11 shots he faced Saturday during the team's opening 4-0 victory over Slovenia.