Penguins GM Dubas explains how Marc-Andre Fleury’s PTO came to be
Marc-Andre Fleury will see the crease for the Pittsburgh Penguins one last time.
Instead of fading into retirement or signing a one-day contract with the Penguins to retire with the club, the veteran goaltender will make one more appearance for the team he won three Stanley Cups with, after signing a PTO.
While Fleury wrapped up his final NHL season with the Minnesota Wild in 2024-25, he went on to be a standout for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships, leading the Penguins and Canada general manager Kyle Dubas to float the idea of a unique send-off.
Dubas joined Daily Faceoff’s The Sheet with Jeff Marek on Monday and broke down how Fleury’s sendoff game came to be.
Kyle Dubas: We had Marc-Andre at the (2025 World Championship). Last year, in late October, he announced it was his last year. To see how much he’d meant to the fans, because of who he is as a person… Obviously, the success he had in Pittsburgh, he holds every goaltending record, three Stanley Cups, and made one of the biggest saves that I can ever remember in Game 7 with nine seconds to preserve a 2-1 win.
Just in trying to think of the best way for someone of his personality and how much he loves hockey and the enthusiasm that he has, [we were] trying to figure out the best way for the fans to say goodbye one last time.
There’s always the one-day contract thing, but seeing how much fun he had playing at the World Championships and how well he played at the World Championship, as well as conversations with Marc-Andre and Allan Walsh, it just struck me as a good idea for the fan base and for Flower, and we talked about it throughout the summer.
All credit to him, he jumped on board and wants to do it. So I think it’ll be a very special night for the fans in Pittsburgh, for the city of Pittsburgh. It’s also unique in that there are still a number of players on our team who have played with Flower in Pittsburgh and won championships with him in 2009, 2016, and 2017. So it’s just a unique opportunity because he’s a unique person, and it should be a very special and exciting night for Marc-Andre and his family, but also for the Penguins and the fans in Pittsburgh.
Jeff Marek: Does this mean, even more so than ever, that Marc-Andre Fleury has a home in Pittsburgh? Perhaps even with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, would that door be open?
Kyle Dubas: The door’s always open for Marc. At the same time, he’s got a young family. Talking to him, and that’s his story to tell, not for me, but I think prioritizing that has been the most important thing…
It’s vitally important to me that our organization is treating those people who’ve given so much to the organization as well as possible. But when it comes to Marc-Andre Fleury, he’ll always have a place here if he wants it, no doubt.
You can catch the full interview with Kyle Dubas on the latest episode of The Sheet here…