Marc-Andre Fleury is back in the Wild net ... but only to ‘help out our guys a little bit’

Marc-Andre Fleury, complete in his pads and skates, took to the ice at Tria Rink on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and stumbled for an instant. He gathered himself, went through a stretching routine, skated a few laps and took his place in his cage.

Fleury, a 41-year-old retired goalie who’s now a player development advisor in the Wild’s front office, had a different role this day. He was an “EBUG” — an emergency backup goalie — as Minnesota’s non-Olympians returned to practice after a two-week layoff.

With the Wild’s goalie tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt with Team Sweden in Milan for the Winter Olympics, the team needed a couple of tenders for practice. Joining Fleury was Adam Carlson, an Edina native and longtime minor league goalie until 2023.

“Anytime he’s around, the mood’s great,” Wild associate head coach Jack Capuano said of Fleury. “… When he’s around, it lifts the guys up to see him on the ice."

The early part of practice featured 2-on-1 drills, which put the goalies in a tough situation. Vladimir Tarasenko scored against Fleury, then skated over to give him a sympathetic pat on the back. When Marcus Foligno and Vinnie Hinostroza teamed for a goal that beat Fleury, they celebrated as if it were a game-winner. And Foligno began chirping at the man they call “Flower.”

“It was so good — I’ve got my confidence up again,“ Foligno joked of shooting against Fleury. “… I don’t know what he’s thinking by retiring, but he’s awesome."

Said Fleury, “For sure, I wasn’t my best, but I hopefully in the next few days, I’ll get a few more skates in, and I can stop more shots and let them know.”

“Usually, he’s chirping,” Kaprizov said. “We miss him because he’s always fun to play with and practice with especially.”

Fleury, who played an exhibition game with the Penguins as a Pittsburgh send-off, reiterated that he’s staying retired and enjoying his added time with his family. “I’m good,” he said. “I’m just trying to help out our guys a little bit.”

He did, however, acknowledge that he does miss the camaraderie of being on a team.

“There’s nothing like it,” Fleury said. “The locker room — lots of laughs. Practicing, the games, the crowd, the feeling you get from having a purpose to win as a team — it all feels good inside."

The first practice in two weeks had an uptempo pace and took on a spirited feel, just what Capuano wanted as the team prepares for the resumption of the season, which starts for the Wild on Feb. 26 at Colorado, whose 83 points in the standings lead the NHL.

The Wild had seven players in the Olympic quarterfinal game between the United States and Sweden, and the 2-1 victory by Team USA means the tournament is over for Sweden’s four Wild players — center Joel Eriksson Ek, winger Marcus Johansson, and Gustavsson and Wallstedt.

Capuano said they won’t be rushed back to practice.

“We’ll still give them a few days, obviously, before they come back and get at it,” he said. “They need a little bit of rest as well, like we’ve all had.”