Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk leaving NHL for Russia
Detroit Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk made it offical and will be leaving the NHL to play in Russia.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding the future of Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk. As expected, he has announced that he will be leaving the NHL for Russia after a glorious and unforgettable 14-year career, according to Nick Cotsonika.
Datsyuk will be leaving the Red Wings after giving it his all for 14 seasons. The 37-year-old forward will be leaving the NHL with 314 goals and 918 points in 953 career games.
He won four consecutive Lady Byng Trophies from 2005 to 2008 and three consecutive Selke Trophies from 2007 to 2010. Datsyuk won a Stanley Cup during the 2007-08 season and helped lead the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008-09.
Datsyuk makes it official: He's going home to Russia and leaving Red Wings with one year left on his contract.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) June 18, 2016
He retires as arguably one of the most influential players of all-time. Not only that, Datsyuk was also one of the league’s first highlight reel superstars, with fans spending many hours dropping their jaws at his highlights on Youtube. Many Russian players call him one of their heroes.
In 157 playoff games, Datsyuk added 113 points, including 23 points in 22 games during the Red Wings’ Stanley Cup run in 2007-08. He will be returning to Russia to play in the KHL for family reasons, though Datsyuk did not elaborate further.
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Datsyuk retires fifth on the all-time points list for Russian players and ninth on the career goals list for Russian players. He is also third on the career assists list for Russian players.
Datsyuk made a lot of people love hockey and he will be dearly missed.
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