Pavel Datsyuk Saying Goodbye To Hockeytown And NHL, Heading Home To Russia
DETROIT (97.1 The Ticket/AP) - Pavel Datsyuk's NHL career is officially over.
Datsyuk announced his retirement from the league Saturday at his youth hockey camp at Orchard Lake St. Mary's Ice Arena in West Bloomfield.
Datsyuk said his final decision came when he was on vacation with his family recently. A native of Sverdlovsk, Russia, Datsyuk says he intends to play in the KHL, although he didn't say for how much longer.
The announcement wasn't a huge surprise. Toward the end of the season, he was quoted in a Detroit Free Press saying he planned to leave with a year left on his contract to reunite with his teenage daughter and continue his career in Russia. But Datsyuk later told reporters there was a chance he could change his mind.
The 37-year-old Datsyuk has had a dazzling career. Detroit drafted him in the sixth round in 1998, and he helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 2002 as a rookie. He was one of the franchise's stars when it won another title in 2008.
Ken Holland, General Manager and executive Vice President of the Detroit Red Wings, is expected to address the media in the Red Wings dressing room at Joe Louis Arena at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Datsyuk's contract carries a $7.5 million cap hit next season, although the Wings are not be obligated to pay his $5 million salary. In all likelihood, they could trade Datsyuk's contract to a small-market team trying to pull themselves above the cap floor. They would likely have to surrender a lesser prospect to facilitate that, but it beats having a hefty chunk of dead weight on their cap.
With Datsyuk's contract off the books, the Wings have about $18 million of open cap space heading into free agency. There are still some players Holland figures to resign, but the extra $7.5 million of wiggle room allows the team to pursue prized free agents like Steven Stamkos, should he hit the open market.
Of course, the team could always just terminate Datsyuk's contract and eat his cap hit.
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