When glow of spotlight flickers into twilight

Knowing when it's time to stop playing is a difficult call for any NHL player

Marc-Andre Fleury was 36 when he won the Vezina Trophy last season as the NHL's top goalie.

It was the first time Fleury had won the award after posting a 26-10 record for the Vegas Golden Knights, along with a 1.98 goals-against average, a .928 save percentage and six shutouts.

Fleury has shown no signs of slowing down this season.

Heading into Tuesday night's game against the Canadiens, Fleury had a 6-1 record since joining the Minnesota Wild with a 2.59 GAA and a .921 save percentage.

“Flower is like the Energizer Bunny,” Canadiens goalie Carey Price said about Fleury after practice Monday. “He doesn't seem to stop. He's a true pro. He's got the body type to be able to do that, I think. There's been a lot of goaltenders throughout the years that have been able to play into their late 30s and I look up to all of them.”

Johnny Bower and Jacques Plante are the oldest goalies to win the Vezina Trophy. Bower was 40 when he won it with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1964-65 and Plante was 40 when he won it with the St. Louis Blues in 1968-69.

Gump Worsley is the oldest goalie to hoist the Stanley Cup, winning it at age 39 with the Canadiens in 1969.

Price was 27 when he won the Vezina Trophy with the Canadiens in 2014-15 after posting a 44-16-6 record, along with a 1.96 GAA, a .933 save percentage and nine shutouts. He also won the Hart Trophy that season as the league MVP. He will turn 35 on Aug. 16 and the only thing missing from his resumé is a Stanley Cup. He has four more seasons remaining on his eight-year, US$84-million contract.

With the Canadiens heading into a rebuild under new GM Kent Hughes, it would seem Price's best chance of winning a Stanley Cup would be with another team.

However, with his annual salary-cap hit of $10.5 million and his questionable health following off-season knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus that sidelined him for the first 74 games this season, trading Price might be impossible. The goalie also has a full no-movement clause, meaning he would have to sign off on any trade.

“I just want to be able to finish playing at an acceptable level,” Price said Monday when asked how much longer he wants to play. “I don't know how long that is. But, at the end of the day, I want to be able to say that I left the game playing well and not being a burden.”

Knowing when to retire can be a difficult decision for any hockey player. Gordie Howe holds the record for the oldest player in the NHL, hanging up his skates at age 52 following the 1979-80 season with the Hartford Whalers.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis retired as a player at 39 following the 2014-15 season with the New York Rangers. St. Louis was asked Monday how he knew it was time to hang up his skates.

“Even in my older, later part of my career, it was an everyday thing,” he said. “What's acceptable for me. We all have our own expectations and you try to meet that every day.”