Ducks' Silfverberg can be proud of impression he's left

Jakob Silfverberg concludes his 12-year NHL career tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.

As Jakob Silfverberg prepares to play in his final NHL game on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, he appears to be at peace with his decision to retire. The 12-year veteran isn’t calling it quits completely on hockey, but he is hanging up his skates for the NHL portion of his career. Silfverberg will return to Sweden next season after signing a two-year deal with hometown club Brynäs on Monday.

“It’s not a decision that was made yesterday by any means, Silfverberg said. “It’s been something that was made a while back, so I’ve sort of been slowly preparing for it. Still feel like I have something to give and I’m still excited to play, just not here in North America.”

“Really excited for the future, I’ve had 11 great seasons here—one in Ottawa—and it’s been amazing for both me and my family and we’ll miss it a lot. But also, looking ahead at the future, I’m excited and it’s going to be fun.”

His teammates have known about his decision to retire from the NHL for months now. Silfverberg said there wasn’t a defining moment where everyone found out, nor did he make a big fuss about it with an announcement to the entire team.

That’s not who I am, he said. “I’m a pretty quiet guy. I think I told (Isac Lundeström) in Swedish and he spoke to someone and then that person spoke to someone. And then before you know it, guys start asking me, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ So kind of just slow over time, but this was a decision that was made a long, long time ago.”

“Throughout the year, guys have been asking. It’s been a sure thing for a while. Guys have known and it definitely hasn’t been a secret. It wasn’t a big announcement, the rumors kind of spread and then guys figured it out.”

Lundeström is one of five Swedish players currently on the Ducks. Gustav Lindström and William Lagesson were late-season additions after being claimed off waivers while Leo Carlsson has been a key building block since being drafted second overall in this past summer’s draft.

Silfverberg and Carlsson met at last year’s World Championships––where Silfverberg captained Team Sweden––and though Silfverberg has 14 years on Carlsson, the former said that he doesn’t really notice the age difference whenever he has conversations with the latter.

“Leo’s 19. I’ve got a lot of years on him, but I try not to look at it that way. I just try to be myself. I don’t think of myself as being however many years older. When you say it out loud, it kind of sends you for a second.”

“But when we’re having a conversation, especially around hockey or how the plays develop on the ice, I feel like we’re kind of in an equal mindset. You don’t look down on them just because they have less experience. He’s a talented player, he brings a lot of excitement.”

“It was a huge honor (to captain Sweden),” Silfverberg continued. “I hadn’t played at Worlds in a long time due to various reasons. Any time you can go and compete for your country, it’s an honor. (We) had a little bit of a tough run—we lost in the quarterfinals—but we had a good team."

"A little early of an exit, but it was a lot of fun being there. Great group of guys and any time you can represent your country, I think it’s a big thing and to have the honor of being the captain was a huge deal.”

“We were kind of joking about it during the Worlds that it would be fun for him to come here and it would be fun to play with him. You never really know, but I think I was most excited going into the draft because I knew how good of a kid he was both on and off the ice. Very humble, but also has that extra talent that he’s shown this year. It was a lot of fun to get a preview of him at Worlds and to have him here with the Ducks too.”

“He’s been great,” said Carlsson of Silfverberg. “ I didn’t really know him before the World Championships. First time meeting him, so we didn’t really talk much then. Great leader for the team, does a lot of great things on the ice. Great guy.”

Silfverberg was someone whom Lundeström stuck to and looked up to when he first arrived in Anaheim in 2018. Lundeström didn’t have a very good grasp of the English language at the time and Silfverberg was who he leaned on to figure things out early on.

“Coming here pretty young, it’s not always that easy to come from Sweden,” Lundeström said. “It’s like an 11-hour flight over here. A lot of different things like the language, so it’s been nice to have him here if I have any questions to ask. Now I’ve been here a while too, so I’ve started to learn everything around the league and the locker room and the ice too. He’s helped me a lot in the early days, so it was nice.”

Someone who’s been on this Ducks journey the entire way is Cam Fowler, who was entering his fourth season as an NHLer when Silfverberg came over to Anaheim in the Bobby Ryan trade during the summer of 2013.

“He’s just the ultimate pro,” Fowler said. “He comes in and he does his job every day. He works hard. He sets a great example for all the younger players here on how he approaches the game and treats people around the rink and the locker room. He’s been the ultimate pro and he’s had a great career. I’m really going to miss him and I wish him all the best.”

One of those younger players is Trevor Zegras, who came into the league at 19, the same age as Fowler. Zegras’ stall in the Ducks’ dressing room at Honda Center has been next to Silfverberg’s for the last three seasons.

“It’s crazy,” Zegras said. “We’ve had guys—obviously, Getzy—and some guys—Ryan Miller—play their last couple of games down the stretch and it’s pretty special because whatever you think you’re dealing with, you look over at the guy you sit next to for three years and he’s only got (a few) games left, so it definitely gives you a little bit of a different perspective down the stretch.”

“You want to play harder and play for that guy a little bit more. Silfvy has been nothing but amazing and a first-class guy since I got here and very happy I got to be his teammate for as long as I did.”

Not only has Silfverberg been a valuable resource for his teammates, but he’s also been one for head coach Greg Cronin and his coaching staff.

“We’ve got a lot of Swedish players. We call him the Mob Boss,” said Cronin with a grin. “The Swedish Mafia, he’s the head of it and I think the guys all listen to him. They respect him. There’s a lot of experience he has that gives him the credibility to be a role model and a messenger and they listen. And I’m sure Leo’s going to look back 10 years from now and say how grateful he was that he had Silfver in the locker room with him.”

“And then for me and the coaching staff, I think he’s really tried to uphold our standards and the principles that we’re trying to promote here to everybody. I’ve had a couple of guys comment to me, that they can’t believe how much more talkative he’s been this year.”

“On the bench as well, trying to hold guys to a standard in terms of changes, shift time, turnovers and I can’t tell you how valuable that is for coaches when you have people that do that and they echo what you’re trying to do as a staff. And I think Henrique did that as well, so losing him at the deadline was a big blow. But I think Silfver’s stayed true to that throughout the year.”

For Silfverberg, the leader and mentor role that he’s taken on belonged to Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson when he first came over to the NHL in 2012 and it became goaltender Viktor Fasth when Silfverberg was dealt to Anaheim.

“Coming over (to Anaheim), my first year in Ottawa was a lockout year, so I had never been in California. We only played on the East Coast, so it was a big change for me. Being able to have Viktor here––I think I played against him in Sweden for a couple of games and I played with him on the national team, so I knew him a little bit. He and Linda, his wife, took me and (my wife) Clara and they basically showed us around for the first little bit until we got our feet underneath us, so it was massive for me. He’s a really good guy and I was happy to have him here at that time.”

Two players that Silfverberg learned a lot from during his time in Anaheim were Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Kesler, two of his most frequent linemates. Kesler did not arrive until the 2014-15 season after a summer trade from Vancouver, but Cogliano and Silfverberg were essentially attached at the hip once Silfverberg came to Anaheim.

“I don’t know how many games I played with (Cogliano), but playing on that line was special. That’s when we had those good runs with me, him and Kes and we kept it pretty tight together too. We were close friends. Just learned from those two guys and being able to play with them, how much emphasis they put on playing both sides of the puck kind of shaped me into the player I became. Those guys were good for me.”

Silfverberg has helped instill that same two-way mentality into Lundeström, who has developed into a steady defensive forward in his own right. The two Swedes have frequently played on the penalty kill together over the last few months.

“It’s not always about offense and he’s helped me a lot to be in the right spot, so I feel really confident in the (defensive) zone,” Lundeström said. “Some small details off the ice too, to always be on time and everything is important. You really have to take care of your body too (because) it’s a lot more games than back home in Sweden. It’s a little bit different, but he helps me with small things.”

Health issues had bogged Silfverberg down in the latter half of his Ducks tenure, most notably two separate instances of blood clots on top of hip surgery which cut his 2020-21 season short. But the 33-year-old has missed only two games over the last two seasons and displayed impressive defensive numbers this season.

“You always want to score more goals and score more points,” Silfverberg said. “Personally, I feel like this year has been a step in the right direction for me. I feel like I’ve played with a quicker step in my feet. I feel better mentally, and more excited to be out there. It’s been a really fun year and I give the Swedish guys credit too.”

“A lot of excitement bringing Leo here and having a young Swedish player on the team. Bringing in a new coach too, some new ideas. And like I said, you always want to score a few more goals here and there, but I don’t know. There was a lot of new stuff going into the season that kind of created a spark. It’s been an up-and-down year for us as a team. But, for me personally, maybe not as many points as I would like, but definitely feel like my play is better than it’s been the last couple of years.”

Silfverberg hopes that kind of play can continue as he returns home to play for Brynäs next season. The club is currently in the middle of the Allsvenskan playoffs as they push for promotion to the SHL. Whether they’re playing in the first or second tier of Swedish hockey next season doesn’t matter to Silfverberg, who always wanted to finish his hockey career in the place where it all began.

“I’ve even said it from day one when we moved over,” Silfverberg said. “We had a really special year my last year (with Brynäs). We ended up winning the championship with a fairly young team, a lot of guys that I played against in the NHL here and stayed in close touch with. I even said 12 years ago that before I get too old and too slow, I’d like to come back and make a strong push and do this again.”

“I’ll be 34 here now and still feel like I’m playing some pretty good hockey. But even then from day one, my ultimate dream and ultimate goal was to one day come back and play in my hometown.”

Ducks fans had one final opportunity to honor Silfverberg in the last home game of the season on Apr. 12. Though the result was a 6-3 loss to the Flames, it took a backseat to the festivities and memories that were conjured as Silfverberg was honored with a tribute video on the Jumbotron during a TV timeout and after the game when he took one final lap to acknowledge the crowd and say a few words.

“It feels special that the last home game, I could kind of put the nail in the coffin,” Silfverberg said. “I’m sure there will be some emotions tonight as well, but that last home game is going to be the one that really sticks out to me.”