Marc André-Fleury to Take a Break From the NHL Following Another Tough Loss

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Aaron Itovitch
January 8, 2023 (6:12)

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This wasn't Marc-André Fleury's first bad loss of the year. It likely won't be his last either, but it won't be for a little while.

Michael Russo, an NHL Insider made things very clear. After a dramatic reaction to the loss by Fleury, sparked by some personal issues he had been dealing with, Fleury will take a leave of absence from the NHL.

Never seen a goalie beat himself up like Fleury. He's slamming things, apologizing to teammates, cursing, saying 5 goals should be a win every time

I can tell you, MAF has been dealing with a deep personal matter the last week and is leaving #mnwild� tonight til Tuesday

The game in question was 6-5, a goalie nightmare on both sides, but if you were really watching, Fleury did all he could. Buffalo's elite shooters would've gotten at least four or five of their goals on any netminder in the league, barring the best of the best.

He even made this exceptional save:

And saved his team from a quick loss in OT:

He even got on the scoresheet:

While this wasn't a great night for save percentage and goals against average, Fleury played his best. It is unfortunate to see him beating himself up for it.

Players quickly came to his defense:

But unfortunately, this was the tipping point that will lead to a leave of absence.

Hopefully Fleury can deal with whatever personal issues he has going on, as we all want our favorite veteran goalie back between the pipes.

Source: Hawks Insider