Tomas Plekanec forced to announce his retirement

The name Tomas Plekanec will always be polarizing in Montreal. After all, he was a good player who, in his prime, enjoyed some excellent offensive seasons. 70 points in the NHL is something to celebrate.

But at the same time, in the end, he was overpaid for the defensive specialist he was.

Be that as it may, Pleky enjoyed a great NHL career of 1001 games (and another 94 in the playoffs). He played the vast majority of his games for the Canadiens. His 24 games in Toronto, playoffs included, were quickly forgotten.

A few years ago, he returned to Europe.

But this time, he had to put an end to his playing career. The Czech, who has been playing in his hometown (Kladno) for the past few seasons, has health problems and is unable to continue playing.

He is therefore forced to announce his retirement.

Plekanec is now 40 years old. On Instagram, he mentioned that he’s been lucky in that he’s often avoided major injuries during his career, but that his most recent one is too significant.

Not everyone is Jaromir Jagr…

On Instagram, the former Canadien showed his class by announcing the news. He thanked the people who have helped him have such a successful career, and is looking forward to spending time with his family.

And he hasn’t closed the door on a return to field hockey one day – in a different role, of course. But let’s not put the cart before the horse, since he didn’t mention Montreal, and it’s safe to assume that he’ll be working in Kladno.

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A publication shared by Tomáš Plekanec (@tomasplekanec)

In 1001 NHL regular-season games, Pleky scored 233 goals and 375 assists, for a total of 608 points. He had three seasons of at least 60 points, including a 70-point season in 2009-2010.

He also has 53 points in 94 playoff games on the Bettman circuit.

In bursts

– He’s one to watch.

– Nice set.

– With good reason.

– Big game yesterday in the MLB.

– Attention all interested parties.