© Pittsburgh Penguins

Marc-Andre Fleury knows how to make fans in Pittsburgh, and even though he hasn’t played in town for seven years now, that doesn’t seem to have changed.

On Monday, a day before the Minnesota Wild are set to play the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, Fleury made a surprise visit to suit up with some youth hockey players at a local practice rink in nearby Cranberry, Pa.

After Fleury finished up his own practice with the Wild at the secondary rink in the arena, he noticed teenagers from the Penguins’ EXCEL Hockey Academy putting in some work of their own on the main surface. Naturally, Fleury took the opportunity to get some extra reps in.

Marc-Andre Fleury made a surprise visit hitting the ice with the kids of the @ExcelHA today pic.twitter.com/Yx2W9i32Y8

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 28, 2024

The veteran goalie stopped a few shots then skated over to talk to the other goalie who was on the ice at the time, before heading back to the locker room.

Fleury spent 13 seasons with the Penguins, including winning three Stanley Cups with the franchise (2009, 2016, 2017). After that final Stanley Cup win, he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, where he won the Vezina Trophy as the League’s best goalie in the 2020-21 season.

NHL.com Independent Correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report