You could say it was an upset for the ages. Yet, no matter what adjective you use, it might not be enough to signify how big of an update the hockey world just saw. While the race to the Stanley Cup is gradually rolling toward its conclusion, everyone took notice when Denmark knocked Canada out of the IIHF World Championships. Unfortunately, Marc-Andre Fleury became collateral damage to this shocking defeat.

To put the disparity between Canada and Denmark into perspective, the North American nation has scored 82 goals in seven victories against Denmark in just the last nine meetings. Denmark had only registered 12. What’s more? Following the preliminary round, Canada had three players among the top 10 scores in the tournament—Nathan MacKinnon at second with 13 points, Travis Konecny at fourth with 12, and Sidney Crosby at seventh with 11. But none of that mattered.

Despite taking a 1-0 lead, Canada couldn’t hold on to it as Nikolaj Ehlers equalized in the 58th minute and Nick Olesen scored the winning goal with just 48 seconds left in the period. And as the Denmark supporters exploded into cheers, Marc-Andre Fleury’s career came to the most unceremonious end.

The Minnesota Wild goaltender, fresh off playing the first round of the NHL playoffs, wasn’t even in front of the net against Denmark. Instead, Ehlers put the puck past Binnington, while the NHL veteran sat and watched from the bench. The fans were devastated. “Not the ending he deserved. Thank you for all the memories, legend. #29,” commented one fan, bidding farewell to the 40-year-old.

Marc-Andre Fleury has already retired from his NHL career. The former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender had announced he would hang up the gloves after the 2024-25 NHL season. Thankfully for Fleury, the Minnesota Wild grabbed the wildcard entry into the playoffs, extending his final season further. Unfortunately, that didn’t last too long as another one of Fluery’s former teams, the Vegas Golden Knights, bounced them in round 1 of the NHL playoffs. While that wasn’t a good experience, fans still found it better than what happened at the World Championships.

Marc-Andre Fleury fans believed he deserved much better

Hockey fans couldn’t believe that Canada made the NHL veteran sit out games when they knew this would be the final international competition of the netminder’s hockey career. “He should have been in net every game then…” commented one fan who couldn’t fathom the decision to keep Fleury in reserve. However, that decision could’ve been motivated after evaluating both goalies’ performances in the 2025 playoffs.

In the NHL playoffs, Marc-Andre Fleury only played in the third period of Game 5 against Vegas for Minnesota. And while he helped the Wild take the game to overtime, Vegas ultimately prevailed. That turned out to be the final game of his storied NHL career. While there was no grand send-off for the three-time Stanley Cup winner, at least he got to go out on his shield.

And the fans found that far more acceptable than what transpired at the World Championships. “Rough way to go out for Flower. Salute to a great Hall of Fame career!” commented a fan. Then again, Team Canada couldn’t deny Binnington after his playoff performance. The St. Louis Blues goaltender made a whopping 173 saves in games against the Winnipeg Jets, ending his playoff run with a .901 SV%.

Binnington preserved that for the World Championships, too. Jordan Binnington won three of the four games he played for Canada. He earned .944% even after the shocking loss to Denmark. That being said, Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t far behind, either. As per the website, the goalie played three games and also walked away with the identical SV%.

So it’s no wonder fans thought things might have been different with Fleury in front of the net. “Okay, now this is sad,” wrote one Team Canada fan. Then again, things may have turned out exactly the same for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off winners. “I’m done,” the veteran said after the Minnesota Wild exited the playoffs. Fleury revealed how Father Time took its toll.

“I feel like I’m not as good as I was. I feel like I’m not as flexible as I was. I don’t do things like I used to, and that [ticks] me off. After I play, I feel like a car hits you sometimes,” Marc-Andre Fleury added. Yet, that didn’t mean the fans wouldn’t miss the Stanley Cup winner. In fact, it’s the opposite. “We will miss you, flower!” commented another X-user.

And despite the veteran goaltender’s decision to retire, it’s safe to assume he’ll miss the ice, at least for a while. “Still a little unbelievable that it’s over,” Fleury said after exiting the playoffs. It won’t be surprising if this loss takes time to sink in.