Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 3000262" data-attributes="member: 2012">Desjardins makes it official!Flyers' Desjardins retires after 17 seasonsSports Ticker8/10/2006 3:28:44 PMPHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- After 17 seasons in the NHL, Eric Desjardins has decided to call it a career.The Philadelphia Flyers' longest tenured player, Desjardins announced his retirement on Thursday.The 37-year-old Desjardins has been a staple on the Flyers' blue line since being acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on February 9, 1995.However, Desjardins has struggled with injuries in recent years, playing more than 65 games just once in the last four seasons. He has skated in a total of 93 games over the last two campaigns, including just 45 in 2005-06, when he missed 29 contests following shoulder surgery."It's kind of a tough day, but I think it's pretty much come for me to make this decision," Desjardins said.  "It was not easy  and that's why I waited the whole summer to think about it.  For me, it was really important to retire as a Flyer.  I don't feel I could be at the level that I want to be at, so that's why I decided to retire."In his prime, Desjardins was one of the most well-rounded defensemen in the NHL, scoring 12 or more goals six times and recording six 40-point seasons.  He totaled 396 points in 11 seasons with the Flyers, trailing only Mark Howe (480) among blue-liners on the franchise list."I think Eric was the perfect athlete," Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said.  "His conduct off the ice was always very disciplined and classy.  On the ice, he was a gifted player who played the game clean, hard and with dignity.  You wish that every player who came through your organization was like Eric Desjardins.""I would really hope that he'd be remembered as one of the best defensemen that ever came through Philadelphia," said the Pittsburgh Penguins' John LeClair, a former teammate with Desjardins with Montreal and Philadelphia.  "People really have a lot of respect for him around the league.  They know how good he is.  As a teammate, you really appreciate how good he is.  He did everything for us."A second-round pick of the Canadiens in 1987, Desjardins recorded 136 goals and 439 assists in 1,143 games with Montreal and Philadelphia.  He helped lead the Canadiens to the 1993 Stanley Cup championship, completing an unforgettable hat trick with an overtime tally in Game Two of the Finals against the Los Angeles Kings."I got a chance to play with him in Montreal and win the Stanley Cup with him," LeClair said.  "Actually, he basically won me a Stanley Cup ring there.  His three goals in Game Two probably turned the whole series around for us. That's something I'll never forget."A three-time All-Star, Desjardins helped his team reach the postseason in every one of his 17 seasons, collecting 23 goals, 57 assists and 80 points in 168 games.</blockquote>

Verification