Justin Abdelkader proposes to girlfriend at Joe Louis Arena

Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader picked the best place possible to propose to his girlfriend – Joe Louis Arena. 

Hockey players are often married to their sport because they’re away from home most of the time. They rarely get to stay at home for long during the regular season. However, hockey players still manage to find love. Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader sure has found it. He proposed to his girlfriend at Joe Louis Arena, a place that is extremely special to him.

Props to Abdelkader for picking such a special place to propose to the love of his life. As a hockey player, he likely had access to his home arena, providing him with a unique opportunity.  Abdelkader clearly went all out in his proposal.

He certainly had to act quickly, as Joe Louis Arena has an expiration date. Because it closes at the end of the 2016-17 NHL season, Abdelkader had to get moving if he wanted to propose at the world’s most famous arena. It’s appropriate the happiest day of his life happened at his favorite place in the world.

Through the first 10 games of the 2016-17 NHL season, Abdelkader has three points. He’s coming off two consecutive 40 point seasons, including a career high 44 in 2014-15. Additionally, Abdelkader serves as one of Detroit’s alternate captains, a role he assumed after the departure of Pavel Datsyuk. In 490 career regular season games, he has 82 goals and 95 assists for 177 points. Abdelkader has 424 career penalty minutes. Of his 82 goals, 66 of them have been scored at even strength and 16 have been scored on the power play.

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In the postseason, Abdelkader has 13 points in 64 playoff games, along with 140 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Also, Abdelkader played for Team USA in the World Cup of Hockey, getting four points in seven games.