Fleury named a Masterton finalist

WILD SPOTLIGHT

Retiring at 40, there could be one more award in store for the likely Hall of Famer

Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury acknowledges the cheers after Thursday’s Game 6 of the first-round playoff series against Vegas in St. Paul. Minnesota’s 4-2 loss in the series means its season is over and, with it, Fleury’s long, likely Hall of Fame career. ELLEN SCHMIDT — GETTY IMAGES

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By Jess Myers

jmyers@pioneerpress.com

Even though he only touched the ice during warmups, Marc-Andre Fleury’s final NHL game ended like so many more of the 1,200-plus in a two-decade career, with the crowd chanting his name. Just hours after the final game of his final season, the beloved goalie nicknamed “Flower” was announced for one more NHL honor.

Fleury is among three finalists for the Bill Masterton Award, given annually to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” The 40-year-old native of Quebec talked at length about his love of the game last month, when he was nominated for the award by the Minnesota chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan are the other two finalists.

The award winner will be announced on June 27 in Las Vegas. Fleury could be the third Wild player — all of them goalies — to win the award after Josh Harding (2013) and Devan Dubnyk (2015) won the award named for a Minnesota North Stars player who died as a result of injuries suffered in a game.