Pavel Datsyuk officially retires from professional hockey
Pavel Datsyuk, a forward with the Detroit Red Wings for a long time and a 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, is ending his professional hockey career.
Though Datsyuk had been out of professional hockey for the past three seasons, he continued to dream that he might be able to play again at some point. However, on Wednesday, he made the decision to fully retire.
On Wednesday, a day after it was revealed he will be admitted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November as a member of the Class of 2024, Datsyuk confirmed the news to the Russian media site MatchTV.
Note: the following is translated from Russian.
"The fact that I did not announce my retirement was a coincidence. I wanted to play more, I thought I would. But he didn't play because he couldn't fool himself. I had no fire in my eyes. Yes, there may have been strength, but the fire went away. Such childhood admiration has gone away from hockey. I didn't just deceive myself," Datsyuk said.
"The fact that I did not announce my retirement was a coincidence. I wanted to play more, I thought I would. But he didn't play because he couldn't fool himself. I had no fire in my eyes. Yes, there may have been strength, but the fire went away. Such childhood admiration has gone away from hockey. I didn't just deceive myself," Datsyuk said.
The 45-year-old Datsyuk completed his career as one of the greatest players in Detroit Red Wings history after being selected in the sixth round by the team in 1998. The native of Sverdlovsk played for the Detroit Red Wings during his whole 14-year career, scoring 918 points in 953 regular season games, 113 points in 157 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and winning the Stanley Cup twice.
Before retiring from professional play in 2021, he played for SKA St. Petersburg and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the KHL in Russia for the final five years of his career.
With two Stanley Cup championships, an Olympic gold medal in 2018, a gold medal in the 2012 IIHF World Championship, a 2017 Gagarin Cup victory, four NHL All-Star selections, three Selke Trophies, and four Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, The Magic Man's accomplishments speak for themselves. Following his inclusion on the '100 Greatest NHL Players' list in 2017, Datsyuk will have his name inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto later this year.
The Detroit Red Wings will eventually pay tribute to the iconic forward as well, and it will be intriguing to watch if they decide to retire his number 13 in the future.
Source: MatchTV.ru
MEMBER OF THE TRIPLE GOLD CLUB PAVEL DATSYUK ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT
| POLL | ||
Do you think the Red Wings should retire Datsyuk's number 13? | ||
| Yes | 87 | 87.9 % |
| No | 12 | 12.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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