Canadian netminder Marc-André Fleury called time on his career in 2025 after an illustrious 21-season NHL stint. Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 draft. He spent the majority of his playing career in Pittsburgh and won three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017) with them before moving on to the Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks, and Minnesota Wild.
However, on Saturday, May 24, Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, revealed that the veteran goalie almost signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Twists and Turns in Marc-Andre Fleury’s Toronto Tale
Appearing on the “Agent Provocateur” podcast, Walsh recounted the momentous chain of events from 2022 and interactions with then-Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas, with Fleury looking to move on from the Blackhawks.
“One day, about five days before the deadline, Kyle Dubas calls me and says, I just want to give you a heads-up,” Walsh said. “We have a deal with Chicago. We talked about a bunch of different things on that call, and at the end of the call, he said, ‘Just one thing you should know, I got to go upstairs and get approval on this deal, like I do all deals, but I don’t anticipate there being any issues at all.”
Marc-Andre Fleury was *this* close to becoming a Toronto Maple Leaf.
From the latest Agent Provocateur 🔥➡️ https://t.co/EukjjlyvQE #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/hRYxvK85ch
— sdpn (@sdpnsports)
However, for whatever reason, Dubas did not get the nod from the Maple Leafs hierarchy.
“About two hours later, I get a call from Kyle Dubas, who is crestfallen. In his voice, I could tell that something is very wrong,” Walsh recalled. “He said, ‘Allan, I don’t know how to tell you this. I’m sorry. I went upstairs to get approval. His trade has been nixed. It’s not happening. I tried. I believe in this deal. I wanted this deal to happen, and it’s not happening anymore.”
While no concrete reasons were given for why Fleury was rejected, Walsh added that he didn’t know if Fleury would have remained with the Maple Leafs long-term.
“I don’t know whether Flower (Fleury’s nickname) would have re-signed with Toronto or not as a pending free agent that summer. It was clearly the discussion about ‘come in, play the rest of the season and playoffs, and both sides will get a test drive with each other,'” Walsh said.
Fleury went on to join the Minnesota Wild and retired this season once the team was eliminated from the playoffs in Round 1. He is the NHL’s second all-time leader in wins (575), games played (1,051), and time on ice for a goaltender (over 60,669 minutes), trailing only Martin Brodeur.
“I had a little time maybe in my car after [Game 6], driving home by myself and had a little time to reflect,” Fleury said via NHL.com. “Just, I don’t know, still a little unbelievable that it’s over. Twenty years went by so quick, right?”
