Marc-Andre Fleury steps into new role with Wild, despite a brief return to action

Marc-Andre Fleury is officially retired.

Just ignore that final trip down memory lane.

After the goaltender’s final appearance for the Wild and then one last hurrah with Team Canada at the World Championships in May, Fleury started to figure out what his role would be in the Wild front office.

Then Pittsburgh General Manager Kyle Dubas pitched a unique cameo for Fleury with his first NHL team, but Fleury was unsure. He wasn’t planning on training.

“I didn’t want to let in five goals and look so dumb,” he said.

But when Dubas circled back around training camp, Fleury finally agreed to play a preseason game for the Penguins, and he’s glad he did.

“It was so much fun,” he said.

He was back on a professional tryout, and the weekend was an homage to Fleury, who won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins after they drafted him first overall in 2003.

Fleury donned his signature yellow pads from that era of his 20-plus-year career, and he reunited with former teammates Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. His wife, Veronique, and their three children, Estelle, Scarlett and James, sat along the boards during the game.

“Just to go back in the rinks, my old stall, seeing the old guys that I played with and even just practicing with them,” said Fleury, who became the second-winningest goalie in NHL history while with the Wild. “Just sitting down together, having lunch or breakfast. Yeah, that was so cool, and obviously then the game, the welcome and the love from the fans was crazy.

“James is only 6, so I don’t think he remembers too much of my playing here. The girls were born in Pittsburgh, so it was cool to show them how good people were to me and my wife there.”

Although he didn’t have much downtime, Fleury still managed to prank the Penguins, having decals of flowers and his No. 29 plastered on their vehicles.

“It’s more the grind of the season, try to be good every day,” Fleury said. “Like you’re practicing with the best players in the world, and you play against the best. To keep up with them and to keep up with the young guys, it’s not always easy, right? So, I think that’s where it gets maybe tough.”

But Fleury is still showing up at Tria Rink in St. Paul.

Aside from getting in a few on-ice sessions before his stint with the Penguins, he’s been taking in Wild training camp alongside management and learning more about the front-office side of the organization, including scouting and player development. Fleury still believes he doesn’t want to get into coaching.

Otherwise, he’s spending more time with his kids.

He also plays tennis once a week and has tried mountain biking and Pilates.

However he decides to occupy his time, Fleury knows it won’t be the same as being back in the crease.

“I’m very fortunate, very thankful that I played the game that I love for so long,” he said. “But something I’ve noticed, too, is there’s nothing that will replace playing hockey.

“I will find some things to do, but it never will fulfill what hockey brought to me, the emotion, the adrenaline, the competition, like I said, playing against the best players in the world. That brings the best out of you, and it was so fun.”

Daemon Hunt is back with the Wild after they claimed the defenseman off waivers from Columbus.

A 2020 third-round draft pick by the Wild, Hunt was sent to the Blue Jackets last November in the trade that brought in David Jiricek. Hunt had two goals and 12 assists in 48 games with Columbus’ minor-league team last season and has played in 13 games with the Wild, picking up an assist.