Dallas Stars ahead Joe Pavelski mentioned Tuesday that he is not going to play subsequent season whereas including, “that is it for me.”
Whereas Pavelski didn’t outright say he was retiring from the NHL, he did inform reporters throughout the Stars’ exit interviews that he had recognized for some time that the 2023-24 season would in all probability be his last marketing campaign.
Pavelski, who turns 40 in July, was the NHL’s second-oldest participant this season behind Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano. He was in his fifth season with a Stars group that was one of many favorites to win the Stanley Cup, a trophy that had eluded Pavelski throughout his 18-year profession.
A 2-1 loss Sunday to the Edmonton Oilers within the Western Convention last ended the Stars’ season and was the beginning of questions on Pavelski’s future. Stars gamers akin to captain Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Wyatt Johnston, who has lived with Pavelski and his household, had been all emotional when answering questions on if this might have been Pavelski’s final sport.
Pavelski, who was slated to be an unrestricted free agent, completed with 5 photographs on objective whereas logging 16:50 of ice time in what seems to be his last sport.
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Stars coach Pete DeBoer, who beforehand coached Pavelski after they had been with the San Jose Sharks, additionally addressed the fact that Recreation 6 might have been Pavelski’s final.
“I do not know if it’s going to be Joe’s final sport or not, however it was an absolute privilege of my teaching profession to teach a man like that,” DeBoer mentioned after Recreation 6. “Our younger gamers are all higher for having been round a man like that.”
Pavelski instructed ESPN throughout the group’s second-round collection in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche that he was “type of dwelling within the second proper now, however I am not too apprehensive about it” when he was requested about his future past this season.
Stars common supervisor Jim Nill additionally instructed ESPN throughout the second spherical that Pavelski did not need his future to be a distraction.
“He will know,” Nill mentioned. “There comes a time when your physique, your thoughts — you simply say it is sufficient.”
A seventh-round choose by the Sharks in 2003, the Plover, Wisconsin, native would change into each a future captain and one of many franchise’s all-time greats. He spent two seasons on the College of Wisconsin earlier than embarking on a profession that noticed him end with 476 targets and 1,068 factors in 1,332 regular-season video games whereas having 74 targets and 143 factors in 201 playoff video games.
Pavelski’s performances helped the Sharks stay one of many NHL’s long-term Stanley Cup contenders. The membership reached 4 convention finals and one Stanley Cup Remaining look in 2016 after they misplaced to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Sharks reached the convention last in 2019 after they misplaced to the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. That may be the Sharks’ most up-to-date playoff look and it was additionally Pavelski’s final with the membership.
He left the Sharks and signed a three-year contract with the Stars. Pavelski and the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Remaining in his first season after they in the end misplaced to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Following a one-year hiatus, the Stars returned to the playoffs in 2021-22 however misplaced within the first spherical.
With veterans akin to Benn, Pavelski and Seguin, the Stars had been progressively supplementing that group with younger homegrown skills akin to Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Jake Oettinger and Johnston. It created a roster that noticed the Stars attain the convention last in 2023. They misplaced to the Vegas Golden Knights however affirmed their place as a severe title challenger.
His time captaining the Sharks led to him becoming a member of an already established management group in Dallas. Pavelski’s function as a frontrunner additionally allowed him to work with youthful gamers akin to Johnston and Logan Stankoven whereas offering an extra voice for teammates in want of help.
“He cares about our gamers. He cares about everybody and desires to see us succeed,” Jason Robertson instructed ESPN. “It positively reveals his character and his management. That is one thing that may positively observe him all through his complete life.”