Wild's Marc-Andre Fleury returns to the scene of three Stanley Cup titles

PITTSBURGH — Marc-Andre Fleury made it clear during training camp that he'd wait until the season was over to decide whether he'd keep playing or retire.

Three months later, the Wild goaltender's plan hasn't changed.

"So I don't overthink stuff during the season," the 39-year-old said.

That means Fleury's return to Pittsburgh, where the Wild will kick off a two-game road trip Monday night, could be his last appearance at PPG Paints Arena, or maybe not.

Still, the trip back to where he assembled the bulk of his Hall of Fame-caliber career will be meaningful.

"I had such a good time there," Fleury said. "Good teammates. The fans were great. It will be special, no doubt.

"But I don't want to be a sideshow. I just want to go enjoy the time there, try to get a win."

Regardless of where he's playing, this season was always going to be significant for Fleury — and not just because it could be his last.

He's only four wins away from passing Patrick Roy and becoming the second-winningest goalie in NHL history, his four victories this season lifting him to 548 in his career.

At 996 career games, Fleury is also knocking on the door of 1,000, a rare benchmark for netminders. Only three others have reached that plateau, and none since Roberto Luongo in 2018.

"It's probably like playing 1,500 for a player," said defenseman Alex Goligoski, who crossed the threshold last season with the Wild. "It's crazy, especially now with goalies. You don't see many goalies play even 60 games [in a season]. So, it's a lot."

After competing nine times in the Wild's first 17 games, Fleury's workload has waned, with only two starts in the past 11.

Some of that is indicative of the schedule; after their stint in Sweden last month, the Wild had only two games in an eight-day stretch and over the past week, they played only twice.

Also Filip Gustavsson is cruising, with Fleury's counterpart in the crease on a 6-1 run.

Coach John Hynes acknowledged there are times in a season when it's easier to entrust the net to one goaltender, but he believes a team needs a tandem to navigate the entire 82-game regular season.

For example, the Wild will split their back-to-back games this week vs. Pittsburgh and Boston.

"You do need two goalies to give yourself a chance to win," Hynes said.

During the lag in action, practice time is key for Fleury, who is 4-5-2 with a 3.29 goals-against average and .886 save percentage.

Obviously, that's not an exact replica of game speed, but for Fleury these sessions are the best way to stay sharp.

"Still a lot of hockey to be played," he said.

Including this game against the Penguins, which offers Fleury a chance to catch up with former teammates such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

All three were alongside Fleury on those Pittsburgh teams that won Stanley Cups in 2009, 2016 and 2017 after the Penguins drafted Fleury first overall in 2003. Fleury would eventually leave for Vegas, where he was crowned the NHL's top goaltender in 2021, and after a pit stop in Chicago, he was traded to the Wild in 2022 and went on to sign a two-year, $7 million contract that expires after the season.

Since joining the Wild, Fleury has become the league's career leader in shootout wins (65) and earlier this year he shut out an NHL-record 29th franchise.

Accolades weren't on his radar, but those are what make his performance so unique.

And he's on the cusp of even more.

"When I was younger, I never thought I could make it to the NHL," Fleury said. "But once I was there, I was just happy to play that first game. It was a dream come true.

"Then getting the Cup, too, obviously. That was the second biggest thing for me. I never really thought about any personal stats along the way. I was just trying to win one night at a time."