After a combined 1,533 regular season and playoff games across 18 years, Joe Pavelski took to instagram to officially announce his retirement from the NHL on Monday.
In a two-page letter, the 40-year-old veteran begins by recollecting memories from his pro-hockey tenure. He outlines two specific moments that stood out to him: “Funny enough, both started with me getting knocked out.”
The first was a reference to when he was captain of the San Jose Sharks, during the 2019 playoffs. In Game 7 of the first round against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks were trailing 3-0 with just under 10 minutes to go before Pavelski got hammered by Cody Eakin, sending him to the ice then the dressing room. A five-minute major penalty was assessed and the Sharks scored off the ensuing faceoff and went on to earn the comeback win, 5-4 in overtime, advancing them to the next round.
“My teammates had my back and our team advanced deeper into the playoffs while I was recovering, giving me the chance to return to the lineup,” Pavelski said.
And he returned the favour. Making a triumphant return in Game 7 of the following round against the Colorado Avalanche, he scored a goal and an assist that helped propel his Sharks to a 3-2 win, a moment on the ice he admitted he will never forget.
“Seeing (Joe Thornton’s) face as I skated back to the bench, and his genuine excitement boiling over, is something etched in my brain to this day,” Pavelski wrote.
The second “knock out” memory for Pavelski took place as a Dallas Star in the opening game of 2023 playoffs. A massive hit coming from the Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba sent Pavelski to the press box for the remainder of the round. The Stars managed to pull off the series victory, which lead to an epic return for Pavelski against the Seattle Kraken in the second round — scoring four goals in Game 1, making him the oldest player to net four in a playoff game in NHL history.
“In Dallas, hearing the roar of the crowd that night at American Airlines Center is something I will always remember,” Pavelski wrote. “It was moments like these that deepened my understanding of what the hockey fan and player are all about, thriving on the miraculous and unlikely stories like these that keep us coming back for more.”
He goes on to thank his teammates, coaching staffs, fans and of course, his family, emphasizing: “My career was made better not by individual achievements, but by all the people who I got to share it with,” Pavelski wrote as a sign off.
The Wisconsin native went to the Stanley Cup Final with San Jose in 2016 and in 2020 in his first season with Dallas. Throughout his 18-year career, his teams missed the playoffs just twice.
Selected 205th overall in the seventh round by the Sharks in the 2003 draft, Pavelski made his NHL debut during the 2006-07 season and went on to score 476 goals with 592 assists in 1,332 regular-season games. Those 1,068 career points earned him the sixth spot on the all-time list for a U.S.-born player, with his 74 playoff goals earning him first for Americans as well.
This post-season, Pavelski became the 25th player to appear in 200 playoff games, finishing with 201. He is the only one in that group without a Cup title. He had one goal in 19 games for the Stars in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
