Old Hockey Players...

With the NHL regular season nearing the end and the playoffs just around the corner, it's time to look back and reflect on the season of the "new" NHL, most notably the players who hung up their skates for good.
When the 2005-06 season opened, some of the older players who had waited out the lockout realised that they were not the young guns they once were and decided to retire just before the first puck drop, as in Mark Messier's case. Bravo, he had a great career. Still others like Brett Hull gave it a go for 5 whole games
before realising that it was a different game, faster, no obstuction or cluthing and grabbing. Funny, I thought that is what Brett was waiting for,
rules that would be in his favour. Alas, at 40, even the Golden Brett seemed to be from the Bronze Age. Then there is Steve Yzerman. Also 40. His body battered by major injuries over the years, Yzerman's season has been anything but easy. The points have been hard to come by and his ice time was reduced. There was pressure from fans and media to retire at mid-season. Yzerman turned a deaf ear. Then something happened. The second half of the season went better than expected. The goals were going in and his ice time increased. Once again, Stevie Y will lead the first place Red Wings into the Stanley Cup Playoffs hoping to cap off his career with another of Lord Stanley's Cup

Old Hockey Players Never Die. They Just Lose In Sudden Death.