Pavel Datsyuk announces that he is leaving the Red Wings

thanks for the memories datsyuk

By @MichaelCaples –

WEST BLOOMFIELD – It is official, straight from the man himself.

Pavel Datsyuk is leaving the Red Wings.

The Russian superstar spoke with the media Saturday inside the St. Mary’s Athletic Complex where he was hosting a youth hockey clinic in West Bloomfield, and put all rumors to rest.

“Thank you very much for taking time to come here today,” Datsyuk said during his arranged press conference above the St. Mary’s Ice Arena. “I would like to thank the Ilitch family, Ken Holland and management, our coaches and the rest of the staff, my teammates and opponents, my second home – the city of Detroit – and most importantly, my loyal fans. My family and I are grateful for our time here in Detroit. This was not an easy decision, but it’s time for us to return home.”

With his NHL retirement, the 37-year-old leaves with one year left on his contract with the Red Wings. Due to rules within the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Detroit is stuck with Datsyuk’s $7.5 million impacting its salary cap for the 2016-17 season.

The Red Wings could ‘trade’ Datsyuk to another NHL franchise; Detroit would need to find a team willing and able to take the salary cap hit. During locker room clean-out day, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said that he would attempt to move Datsyuk’s deal if he did indeed retire from the NHL, but he would be hesitant to give up a talented prospect just for the chance to sign players during free agency.

At his press conference, Datsyuk acknowledged that he put his team in a tough situation, but said that he believes that the Red Wings have the best management team in the NHL, indicating confidence that they will be able to work through the situation.

Datsyuk also confirmed that he knew that about the 35-and-over contract situation, but thought when he signed his last contract he that he would be able to play for three seasons.

“This time, I come back, each year, my mind is thinking, ‘I want to go home, I want to go home,’ and at the same time, also I want to keep playing here. This time, I thinking in my mind I be OK with three years, but I go farther and farther, making it harder and harder, and now it’s not fair and I need to go back home.”

Datsyuk said he would like to play for as long as Gordie Howe did, but would not offer a definite timetable for how long he will compete in his native Russia. The native of Sverdlovsk, Russia, said only, “KHL” when asked where he would play next season.

Photo by Andrew Knapik/MiHockey
Photo by Andrew Knapik/MiHockey

 

With his decision to leave a year early, Datsyuk concludes his NHL career that spanned 14 seasons, with all 953 of his games played in a Red Wings uniform. A sixth-round pick (171st overall) in the 1998 NHL Draft, Datsyuk was one of the Red Wings’ heralded ‘ hidden draft gems’ that allowed the franchise to flourish over the last few decades.

Regarded as one of the top two-way forwards in the sport, Datsyuk recorded 314 goals and 604 assists during his 14 seasons, good for 918 total points. Just as impressive was his career plus/minus mark; Datsyuk finished with a lifetime +228 mark.

His ability to excel at both ends of the ice led to three straight Selke Trophy awards – presented annually to the player deemed to be the best defensive forward while still contributing offensively – from 2008 through 2010.

While he was tenacious in the defensive zone, Datsyuk did so with finesse and skill. He recorded only 97 penalty minutes during his entire career, and he never topped more than 11 in a season. For his gentlemanly conduct on the ice, he won the Lady Byng Trophy in four straight seasons from 2005 to 2009.

Datsyuk at his youth hockey camp in West Bloomfield shortly before his announcement. (Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey)
Datsyuk at his youth hockey camp in West Bloomfield shortly before his announcement. (Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey)

 

Datsyuk played in 157 postseason games for the Red Wings, as well. During NHL playoff contests, he recorded 42 goals and 71 assists for 113 points – and a career +34 rating.

Two of those playoff appearances resulted in Stanley Cup championships for Datsyuk and the Wings. As a rookie in 2001-02, Datsyuk recorded 35 points in 70 games, while he joined a star-studded Red Wings squad featuring superstar additions of Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille en route to hockey supremacy.

In 2007-08, Datsyuk was one of the leaders of a Red Wings squad that topped the Pittsburgh Penguins for Detroit’s 11th Stanley Cup in franchise history.

There was a noticeable decrease in his on-ice performance in 2015-16, however, as Datsyuk posted only 49 points in 66 regular-season games, after 65 the year before.

In this year’s first-round playoff series between the Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, Datsyuk dressed for all five games, and failed to record a single point – all while the retirement rumors swirled.

The player known as “Magic Man” will be missed in Hockeytown, but his premature exit may end up tarnishing his legacy.