Marc-Andre Fleury sets example for Wild rookies in preseason.

The Minnesota Wild are reaping the benefits of having veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury on their roster, this in spite of the fact that he won't be playing against the Winnipeg Jets in the Wild's first preseason game of the 2024-25 National Hockey League season.

Fleury has long been one of the most universally beloved players around the league and over the weekend he showed one more reason why that is the case when his team traveled to Winnipeg. No one would have expected the 21 year NHL veteran to fly to Winnipeg for a preseason game that he wasn't expected to play in, but that was exactly what Fleury did this weekend.

According to a report from Wild insider Mike Russo, Fleury set the example for the younger players on the team when he boarded the team plane to Winnipeg alongside them. Fleury's decision to lead by example, establishing a locker room culture for the next generation of young Wild players in spite of the fact that the soon to be retired netminder won't be there to reap the benefits of doing so, is nothing short of commendable.

Wild head coach John Hynes spoke highly of Fleury's decision, echoing the fact that Fleury is one of the most respected players in the entire league for good reason.

"That's who he is," said Hynes of the veteran goaltender. "He's a Hall of Fame goalie. He's coming on the plane, a lot of younger guys in the lineup and all of a sudden he comes on the plane, he's in the locker room, and not only that, as a backup. That's a cultural thing. And that's who he is on and off the ice."

The fact that Fleury is trying to help establish a good locker room culture among a group of players, many of whom he may never play with, at this stage of his career speaks to what a genuinely good person he is and what a great ambassador he has been for the sport of hockey.