‘Our obligation’: Montreal Canadiens show love for Marc-Andre Fleury after loss

There has not been a batch to cheer astir of precocious for fans of 1 of the NHL’s astir storied franchises, but connected Thursday nighttime the assemblage successful Montreal were cheering contempt the Canadiens being held scoreless.

That’s due to the fact that Future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury was successful betwixt the pipes for the visiting Minnesota Wild, helping his broadside to a 4-0 triumph implicit the Habs.

At the property of 40, Fleury is retiring astatine season’s end, aft 21 seasons successful the NHL, which has included stops successful Pittsburgh, Vegas and Chicago earlier joining Minnesota.

While helium ne'er suited up for the Habs, helium is from adjacent Sorel, and helium was fixed a fond farewell by fans and players astatine the Bell Centre.

As soon arsenic the Wild netminder stepped connected the ice, the assemblage cheered. Then during the 3rd period, the assemblage chanted his name, contempt the information helium was astir to grounds a shutout implicit the Canadiens.

“I retrieve my parents utilized to travel to games erstwhile I was with the Penguins and they’d get successful fights, due to the fact that Canadiens fans yelled astatine maine and booed me,” Fleury told reporters aft the game.

“But contiguous my household is here, my kids are here, my wife. And they each saw the emotion from the radical here. That made it truly special.”

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But the solemnisation of his storied vocation did not extremity determination arsenic Fleury’s teammates swarmed the crease aft the triumph arsenic 1 would expect.

What was much unexpected was seeing the full Canadiens squad, arsenic good arsenic the coaching staff, measurement onto the crystal to shingle his hand.

“We paid our respects to a subordinate who deserves that respect. A agelong career, a French guy, successful Quebec,” Canadiens caput manager Martin St. Louis said. “I deliberation it was our work to bash that, adjacent aft the result.”

— With files from The Canadian Press