Dallas Stars star forward Joe Pavelski officially announced his retirement Tuesday, and Adam Proteau says Pavelski has earned the praise that comes with being one of the best American-born NHLers of all time.

Since 2019, the Dalas Stars have benefited greatly from the contributions made by star Joe Pavelski. But Father Time waits for no one, and on Tuesday morning, in an interview on Sirius/XM’s NHL Network Radio, the 40-year-old forward confirmed rumors by announcing his retirement.

"I think I'm ready to step away from the game on the playing side of things and go from there," Pavelski told the NHL Morning Skate show. "There's no plan to play. I didn't want to use the 'r' word (retirement), I guess, right away…I wanted just a little bit of extra time (once the season ended) to think about it.”

Pavelski’s 18-year NHL career saw him play in 1,332 regular-season games and 201 Stanley Cup playoff games. The Plover, Wisconsin native generated 476 goals and 1,06 points in the regular season, and 74 goals – the most playoff goals by any American-born player in league history – and 143 points in the post-season in that span. And although he’s hanging up his skates, Pavelski could’ve continued on, as evidenced by his final regular-season offense totals of 27 goals and 67 points in 82 games this past season. Pavelski’s place in American hockey history extends to his role playing for his country on the international stage; he played for Team U.S.A. twice at the Winter Olympics in 2010 – winning a silver medal in that tournament – as well as in 2014. In addition, he represented his homeland at the 2016 Word Cup of Hockey.

The Stars are going to miss Pavelski’s reliability on offense, and his professionalism and leadership on and off the ice. He was unable to win a Cup, but there are many players in the Hockey Hall of Fame who also failed to win a Cup. For that reason, many expect Pavelski will gain entry into the Hall of Fame at some point, even if he isn’t a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. 

And his grace and resilience in the face of playoff failures will not soon be forgotten. Pavelski played the game the right way and had great success both individually and as a team player. So it would surprise no one if he moved into some sort of management role, either with the Stars or perhaps his other NHL team, the San Jose Sharks, who drafted him 205th overall in 2003,

"I've talked to (Sharks GM) Mike (Grier) a little bit,” Pavelski said. "Just (playing) 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."

Regardless of his future plans, Pavelski should be commended for his reliability and dedication to the game. The Stars will miss him, as will the league in general. But he’s going out on his own terms, and that’s a karmic reward for him for being a tremendous competitor. Pavelski has earned the laurels coming his way, and he’ll likely continue contributing to the game as a management member of some fortunate team.

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