Marc-Andre Fleury receives emotional farewell in final game with Penguins

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Returning to Pittsburgh for one final farewell just felt right for Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury stopped all eight shots he faced during the third period of his final game with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a 4-1 preseason win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

“It was a little surreal, a little crazy, but also comfortable,” Fleury said. “When I played here with other teams, I always felt a little weird, but this felt normal … like it used to.”

Fleury officially retired from the NHL as a member of the Minnesota Wild at the end of last season. But the beloved 40-year-old goaltender signed a ceremonial professional tryout contract earlier this month to see old teammates and friends, come full circle and complete a 21-season NHL career that began in Pittsburgh.

“I feel bad because I’ve done so many laps and goodbyes and I keep coming back,” Fleury said. “I’m thankful I got the opportunity to come back for one more go-around.”

Fleury, a former Vezina Trophy winner who also played with Vegas and Chicago, is second in NHL history only to Martin Brodeur with 575 wins and 1,051 regular-season games played, and his 76 NHL shutouts are tied for 10th in league history.

But this night was meant to celebrate Fleury, who is most well-known for his time in Pittsburgh where he won three Stanley Cups and holds nearly every major goaltending record in Penguins’ history, including games played (691), wins (375), goals-against average (2.58), shutouts (44), playoff games (115), playoff wins (62) and playoff shutouts with 10.

Fleury, who practiced with the Penguins on Friday, wore his familiar bright, yellow pads and a specially made mask to commemorate the special weekend. Fleury was offered a choice as to when he could play on Saturday and he opted for the third period to try to win one more game with the Penguins.

The sellout crowd rose to its feet in unison and gave Fleury a standing ovation as he led the Penguins’ from the tunnel to begin the third period. Loud chants of “Fle-ury” “Fle-ury” and “One More Year” filled the arena minutes after the puck dropped to begin the period. Fans erupted with thunderous applause each time Fleury made a save or touched the puck, including stops on Hudson Fasching, Cole Sillinger and Erik Gudbranson.

In the final two minutes, with the game in hand, the crowd showered Fleury with chants of “Thank You Fleury.” When the final horn sounded, fellow franchise cornerstones Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang embraced Fleury one more time in the crease.

“Every time he touched the puck, the reception was unreal,” Crosby said. “It felt like a playoff game. It was nice to get him the win.”

Fleury spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Penguins. He helped Crosby, Malkin and Letang win the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017 before Vegas selected Fleury in the 2017 expansion draft.

Pittsburgh traded up to draft an 18-year-old Fleury No. 1 overall in 2003 during a tumultuous period in which the franchise nearly moved. More than two decades later, Pittsburgh is no longer a playoff fixture, but Fleury helped stabilize the franchise and turn the Penguins into one of the NHL’s marquee teams.

His signature moment with Pittsburgh came June 12, 2009, in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against Detroit. Fleury made a last-second desperation, post-to-post diving save on Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom to seal a 2-1 win and deliver Pittsburgh its third Stanley Cup.

The fans remembered on Saturday.

Before the game, crowds gathered multiple rows deep behind the Penguins’ goal hoping to catch a glimpse of Fleury during his final pregame warmup with the team. Many took photos and video to commemorate the moment, wore familiar No. 29 jerseys and held homemade signs expressing their love for Fleury, who lobbed pucks over the glass in between facing shots.

“It was surreal to be back with the Penguins and seeing the guys in front of me,” Fleury said. “It was amazing. It was just like old times.”

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Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury takes a lap of PNC Paints Arena following a pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, center, is surrounded by Kris Letang (58), Sidney Crosby, second from left, and Evgeni Malkin (71) following a pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury does pushups in the goal crease between shooters during a shootout following a pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, right, shares a moment with Sidney Crosby (87) following a pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury acknowledges fans after being named the number one star in a pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov, left, skates back to his goal after a timeout visiting with fellow goalie Marc-Andre Fleury during the first period of an pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87), Marc-Andre Fleury (29) and Bryan Rust line up for the National Anthem before a pre-season NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)