Joe Pavelski officially announced he will hang up the skates and not return to playing in the NHL. Here's where he ranks in the leaderboards among American NHL players.
Joe Pavelski announced he is done playing in the NHL.
Although Pavelski told reporters after the Dallas Stars' playoff campaign ended that he didn't plan to return, he reaffirmed that plan when talking to Scott Laughlin on NHL Morning Skate.
Afterward, the NHL posted that Pavelski announced his retirement after a 1,332-game career between the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars.
As The Hockey News' Sharks site writer Max Miller noted, Pavelski said he also spoke to San Jose GM Mike Grier and said it looks like the team is turning a corner.
Pavelski, who turned 40 on July 11, is one of the top American skaters in NHL history in the main statistical categories despite not winning a Stanley Cup. Here are the Plover, Wis., native's standout stats on the NHL's all-time U.S. leaderboard.
Games Played: 1,363
While Pavelski is only one of 71 NHL players to have played at least 1,300 NHL games, he ranks seventh among American skaters in most games played, passing Dustin Brown and his 1,296 appearances last season.
Pavelski had the fifth-longest active streak for games played as the season ended, with 314 games. He had also played every game possible in 11 seasons and nine 82-game campaigns.
While the Sharks had Patrick Marleau play more than 1,600 games for them and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton play more than 1,100 games, Pavelski ranks fourth in franchise history with 963 contests played for San Jose.
Chris Chelios played the most games as an American NHL skater, with 1,651. Matt Cullen (1,516), Mike Modano (1,499) and Jeremy Roenick (1,363) were the only forwards to record more matches than Pavelski.
Goals: 476
Pavelski ranks sixth among American skaters and 55th in NHL history in regular-season goals scored, getting more goals than Pat LaFontaine (468), Zach Parise (434) and Bill Guerin (429).
But Pavelski jumps up the leaderboard when looking at playoff goals scored. He had 74, which leads all American-born NHL players and trails Canada-born Brett Hull's 103 tallies for the most among all Americans.
He had five 30-goal seasons, including a career-high 41 in 2013-14 with San Jose. Pavelski also scored 14 goals in the 2015-16 playoffs, helping the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup final before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Hull and Michigan-born Mike Modano lead the way in regular-season goals scored with 741 and 561, respectively.
Assists: 592
Pavelski narrowly missed becoming the 12th American in NHL history to record 600 career assists, but he remains in quality company.
His best season for helpers came in 2021-22 with the Stars, when Pavelski recorded 54 assists for a career-high 81 points in 82 games.
Defenseman Phil Housley leads the way with 894 assists, while Patrick Kane and Modano lead forwards with 813.
Points: 1,068
Only five players in NHL history were drafted in the seventh round or later and recorded more than 1,000 points. Pavelski is one of them, following Doug Gilmour, Luc Robitaille, Theo Fleury and Dave Taylor.
That makes him ranking sixth among American skaters in points that more impressive. In 2023-24, he passed five Americans in the leaderboard, including Keith Tkachuk (1,065), Joe Mullen (1,063) and Doug Weight (1,028).
Each player he passed has played fewer games, including LaFontaine, who had 1,013 points in 865 games. It nevertheless speaks to the longevity and consistency that Pavelski had to get 1,068 points while averaging 0.80 points per game in his career.
Pavelski also ranks sixth in most even-strength points (667) and 12th in power-play points (383).
Hull has the most points among Americans with 1,391, while Modano (1,374), Kane (1,284), Housley (1,232) and Roenick (1,216) round out the top five.
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