DENVER — They say "don't poke the bear." Apparently you shouldn't poke the Flower, either.
Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-André Fleury is known leaguewide for his practical jokes. Dating back to his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Fleury has been the ultimate prankster. And everyone is fair game, especially if they strike first.
Last week, when Colorado was in St. Paul for a date with the Wild, former teammate Brandon Duhaime fired the first shot. Duhaime was traded to the Avalanche from the Wild midseason, so if the 26-year-old forward was going to get the future Hall of Famer, this was his chance.
Prior to the puck dropping on Thursday's game, Duhaime completely covered Fleury's truck in toilet paper. And despite denying the claim that he was behind the joke, Flower wasn't buying it.
On Monday, Fleury got his revenge.
The Wild netminder put Duhaime's vehicle up on blocks with a "FOR SALE" sign in the windshield. He then signed his work by placing flowers and soil on the hood.
“I think white flag’s coming up,” Duhaime said Tuesday, hours before the Avalanche played the Wild. “I think I’m done.”
No hard feelings over the antics, both maintained. All in good fun. Fleury even bought Duhaime a steak dinner when they went out Monday night.
“I think he had some help for sure,” Duhaime said of the hoax. “I don’t think he can change a tire, to be honest with you. So I think he had some help for sure.”
A partial apology video has been sent, Fleury acknowledged.
“He’s a good kid. He’s always in for a good laugh,” Fleury explained. “I would rather do it to him than ‘Zuccy’ (Mats Zuccarello) who might be (angry) about it. You’ve got to choose your crowd a bit.”
Duhaime was planning to deal with the wheels situation when he had more time. He had to carpool to work Tuesday.
“I’ll probably have to pay somebody to do it or hire someone,” said Duhaime, who was acquired by Colorado in a trade with the Wild on March 7. “So should be expensive.”
He learned a lesson, though — don’t prank Fleury.
“I’ll take (the prank) as a compliment,” said Duhaime, a fourth-round pick by Minnesota in 2016.
Fleury said he had time to scheme the practical joke after the Wild arrived in Denver early following a win over Chicago on Sunday. He said his Uber driver was perplexed with all his gardening supplies, but helpful.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was a bit surprised that Duhaime even drove his car to the lot knowing that Fleury would be out for revenge.
“I was gonna find it anyhow,” Fleury said with a smile.
As for getting by security, Fleury didn’t want to reveal too much.
“They got busy with something else,” he maintained. “We took advantage of it.”
So, he did have help?
“I don’t want to reveal but I don’t want to take all the credit,” Fleury said. “A fine gentleman helped me out through the process."
Potential prankers beware: Fleury liked this one so much that he might use it again.
“I like the (pranks) that take time, take teamwork," Fleury said. "So you don’t laugh by yourself — so you’ve got some friends to laugh with.”
Watch more coverage of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
