The End Of The Line

[E.L.]

A bit surprised about Dustin Brown. Oh well.

Nothing official from PK yet, but I think he can make just as much on TV now as on the ice, so I know which one I would choose.

[E.L.]

Samuel Morin calls it a career. Knee too damaged to continue.

We'll never know if he ever could've lived up to his draft position since he was never healthy.

[Pokecheque]

Samuel Morin calls it a career. Knee too damaged to continue.

We'll never know if he ever could've lived up to his draft position since he was never healthy.

The fact they were trying him out at forward as well tells me he was doomed from the start.

[harmfuljays]

Duncan Keith retires and gives it to the Hawks in the process.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks ... ap-penalty" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Recapture penalties were introduced in the 2013 collective-bargaining agreement to disincentivize teams from front-loading long contracts to reduce the overall cap hit (which is calculated based on the annual average value), then retroactively applied to at-the-time fully legal contracts signed before 2013.

Keith’s 13-year, $72 million contract, signed in 2010, fit that description because it paid him $8 million each of its first three seasons but just $2.1 and $1.5 million in its last two.

But with Keith retiring, only two NHL players are still on contracts signed before 2013 — Sidney Crosby and Shea Weber — and Weber already has de-facto retired because of injuries. Crosby is still going strong for the Penguins with three years left on his contract.

Getting old boys!

[Chris18]

Chara retires to save Lou from himself.
HoF career but tried to hang on a bit too long and tarnished it imo.

[harmfuljays]

Ouch Chris! IMO Big Z deserved better....but he was determined to hang on after Boston.

https://hawksinsider.com/Zdeno-Chara-Ma ... ams-151674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Pokecheque]

There is something to be said about going until you can't go any longer. Phil Simms always said his advice to other NFL players was to keep going until they had to carry you off, because "life after football is forever." At least Big Z made sure there was no doubt. That's way more on Lou for betting on a 45-year-old player when he already had an old-ass team to begin with.

I assume with him gone and Jumbo Joe not far behind that will close the books on players drafted in the 90s.

Chara will likely remain the greatest free agent signing in sports history. The return the Bruins got from him did more than just put them on track to eventually win the Stanley Cup, it covered up for nearly all their other innumerable fuckups over the years and made a grossly incompetent GM in Peter Chiarelli look good. Conversely, the Sens betting on Wade Redden at the expense of losing Chara ended up being quite the mistake.

And while I tend to scoff at all the talk about LEADERSHIP because I tend to think that part of hockey gets wildly overhyped, Chara was the Real Deal. My favorite example is that made it clear there was to be no hazing of rookies, even going so far as to tell his teammates they weren't allowed to even use that word. I admire the hell outta that because he challenged the Old Boys Club way of thinking, something which organizations like the NHL and Hockey Canada really need more of.

[Chris18]

Gretzky said you should retire when everyone tells you that you’ve got one more good year left so you aren’t remembered as sucking. When opposing players warned him instead of hitting him he knew it was time. Chara played a very different game style obviously and probably didn’t receive such niceties but he played one year too long. Look, I liked the guy as a player- for like 26 years! You can’t get mad at me for that!

[Chris18]

Andy Greene retired to keep Lou from signing him as the Isles 6th D-Man. Thanks!

[Pokecheque]

I'm sure everyone saw Zdeno Chara run the Boston Marathon. What a damn machine that guy is.

Side note: Craig Anderson didn't hesitate, announcing his official retirement at the age of 41. I believe he was the only quadragenarian in the NHL this year, which means next year we may not have any.

[Chris18]

I'm sure everyone saw Zdeno Chara run the Boston Marathon. What a damn machine that guy is.

Pretty cool that he got bib #3333.

But meh, he probably finished in like 234 steps.

[harmfuljays]

4 weeks until camp and we've got some noticeables reaching the potential end of the road here.

Toews, Kane, Elliott, Simmons, Kessel, Statsny, Halak, Parise, Brassard, E Staal, Mike Smith......lots of old boys without contracts looking at the next chapter!

[Chris18]

4 weeks until camp and we've got some noticeables reaching the potential end of the road here.

Toews, Kane, Elliott, Simmons, Kessel, Statsny, Halak, Parise, Brassard, E Staal, Mike Smith......lots of old boys without contracts looking at the next chapter!

Supposedly Parise has an offer from the Isles for 1 year. He's supposedly said if he plays it'll be for them, but there have been rumors of him talking to the Devils too. His family is in MN. Playing on the east coast must kind of suck for him.

[E.L.]

Jonathan Bernier calls it a career. Played his best (?) seasons for Toronto. I once watched him whiff on a knuckler in Manchester, New Hampshire with piss poor technique. Alec Martinez was on that Monarchs team too.

[Pokecheque]

Jonathan Bernier calls it a career. Played his best (?) seasons for Toronto. I once watched him whiff on a knuckler in Manchester, New Hampshire with piss poor technique. Alec Martinez was on that Monarchs team too.

Injuries for the most part prevented him from realizing his potential. Also, he was a rather undersized guy right around the time the NHL was opting for HUGE guys in net.

He kinda got his career back on track for a time in Colorado but even then ran into huge concussion issues.

[E.L.]

Joonas Donskoi announces his retirement due to multiple concussions.

Had four straight solid seasons with the Sharks/Avs. Was a nice pickup for Seattle but only played one season for them.

[E.L.]

Carl Hagelin retires. Took a stick to the eye and never recovered.

[E.L.]

Andrew Ladd retires after just crossing the 1000 game mark. Spent some time exiled in Bridgeport before playing a final season in Arizona (also in exile).

[Pokecheque]

On a side note, Zach Parise said this is likely it for him. For obvious reasons I hope he gets that Cup ring.

In "Boy don't you feel old news," apparently Jordan Eberle is going to cross the 1000-game mark just after the deadline this season, which might play a part in whether or not the Kraken deal him.

[E.L.]

On a side note, Zach Parise said this is likely it for him. For obvious reasons I hope he gets that Cup ring.

No Cup for Zach, but retirement has indeed come calling for him. 889 career points, but he might be remembered most as being part of the most epic buyout in NHL history.