Former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski made official what had already been believed for weeks — that he’s retiring as an NHL player.
Pavelski indicated after he and the Dallas Stars were eliminated in the Western Conference final by the Edmonton Oilers last month that he had likely played his last NHL game after a remarkable 18-year career.
Nothing has changed for Pavelski, who remains at peace with ending his playing career despite never winning the Stanley Cup.
“I think I’m ready to step away from the game on the playing side of things and go from there,” Pavelski said Tuesday on NHL Network radio on SiriusXM. “There’s no plan to play. I didn’t want to use the ‘r’ word, I guess, right away. Just for the fact that there isn’t … nothing set in stone, but that is the plan that we’re not playing. I wanted just a little bit of extra time (after the season) to think about it.
“I was pretty comfortable with that plan then, so I didn’t want to keep people hanging and thinking and talking about certain things, but it’s a pretty clear outlook. Over the last month, we’ve given it some more thought. … It’s just a great time for us as a family, as a career.”
Selected 205th overall in the seventh round by the Sharks in the 2003 draft, Pavelski played 13 seasons with the team from 2006 to 2019. On the Sharks’ all-time list, Pavelski is second in goals (355), third in points (761), and fourth in assists (406) and games played (963).
Pavelski said he spoke to Mike Grier about a possible return to the team’s lineup.
“I’ve talked to Mike a little bit. They look like they are turning a corner with some of their draft picks and some of the guys they brought in,” Pavelski said. “Just 13 great years in San Jose. (It is) a special place. It will always be where we got the start. There will always be a part of me there.”
Pavelski finished his career with 476 goals and 592 assists in 1,332 regular-season games. Pavelski is 60th on the NHL’s all-time games played list, and 71st in points scored.
Before retirement, Pavelski was fifth among active players for goals and seventh with 1,068 points.
Pavelski also had 143 points in 201 playoff games, and his teams qualified for the postseason in 16 of his 18 seasons.
Pavelski served as the Sharks’ captain for four seasons from 2015 to 2019. In that time, San Jose played in 60 playoff games, including reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
“Joe is/was as close to the perfect teammate as you can get,” Sharks captain Logan Couture, Pavelski’s longtime friend and teammate, told Bay Area News Group last month. “You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say something negative about him.”
It’s not immediately clear what Pavelski might do next. An avid golfer, Pavelski finished second at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament over the weekend at Edgewood Resort on the shores of South Lake Tahoe.
More golf tournaments might be in order for Pavelski, at least in the short term.
“Just absolutely love being out here,” Pavelski said Sunday after the event. “Hopefully, get into a couple other ones. Maybe a state open at some point back in Wisconsin and club championships. That kind of stuff. It’s still very fresh for me.
“Once it gets closer to the season you’ll definitely — I’m sure there will be a few different feelings and just ideas that will pop in your head. But I think we’re in a very good spot where we’re at right now. And we’ll keep talking about it and looking at it. Looking forward to the summer and spending more time with family.”
