Fleury signs 1-year contract with Wild, will play final season in 2024-25

Marc-Andre Fleury signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday and said 2024-25 will be his final NHL season.

"I've been asked a lot by fans, media, friends, what's next for me," Fleury said. "It's good that this is settled and I don't have to talk about it for another year. Next year will be last also. Excited to get this done."

The 39-year-old goalie, who could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1, said he did seriously contemplate retiring after this season.

“I did talk about it, think about it for a long time this season," he said. "Many times. I would say early things were a little tough for the team, for me personally. I really thought this was going to be it. ... As the year went on, start winning a bit more, start having some fun a bit more. Still love to compete, love to battle with the guys out there and it’s what’s ultimately driving me to keep living the dream and go for one more.

"A lot of guys have said, guys I know, play as long as you can. If you stop too early you regret it. I'm very lucky to have the support that the Wild are giving me to stick around for one more."

Fleury is 17-14-5 with a 2.98 goals-against average, .895 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 games (35 starts) this season. He played the 1,000th game of his NHL career Dec. 31 against the Winnipeg Jets and passed Patrick Roy for second in NHL history with his 552nd win, 5-0 against the New York Islanders on Jan. 15.

He's played in the NHL All-Star Game four times (2011, 2015, 2018, 2019) and leads active goalies in wins (561), games (1,024), starts (994) and shutouts (75). He has at least one win against all 32 NHL teams and was voted winner of the 2021 Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the League.

"He’s played so well this year for us I think," Wild general manger Bill Guerin said. "It’s too soon for him to retire. That’s my personal view. Coming from experience, you don’t want to leave anything on the table. Because when you walk away, when you walk out the door, they don’t let you back in. It's very tough. So play as long as you can. I'm really happy that he's decided to play again."

The Wild also have goalies Filip Gustavsson and top prospect Jesper Wallstedt on the roster, and each is signed through at least next season. But Guerin sees goaltending depth now as a strong suit.

"I think it puts us in a position of strength," he said. "We've got three good goalies in the organization again. We've shown that Jesper has definitely improved. I haven't made decisions on anything moving forward. When you have an opportunity to keep a Marc-Andre Fleury in your organization and keep him playing, you do it. We'll figure the other stuff out."

The Wild did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their season ends against the Seattle Kraken at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN).

NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report