Tomas Plekanec honored by former teammates in Kladno

Tomas Plekanec bid his final farewell to the world of hockey on Sunday evening, as the Kladno Knights, his team in the Czech Republic, celebrated his memorable career before one of their games. For the occasion, many of his former teammates paid tribute to him.

Všechno hezké jednou končí. Děkujeme za všechno @TomasPleky14. Hodně štěstí v nové životní etapě! pic.twitter.com/r9zqERB9jM

– Rytíři Kladno (@RytiriKladno) November 19, 2023

And among those players are a few from the Habs. Three former Montreal players wished him well in his retirement. They are Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron, Max Pacioretty and Shea Weber.

In addition to these four alumni, Brendan Gallagher also joined the party to celebrate Plekanec’s career. The best thing Plekanec taught him early in his career? Playing cards!

Here’s the video posted on the Knights’ Facebook page.

NHL alumnus Michael Frolik was also on hand, having been Plekanec’s teammate with the Czech national team and for 9 games with Kladno. It was Frolik himself who presented Plekanec with a special hockey stick in his honor.

Frolik had been talking to Plekanec all summer and was very excited to be playing with a “super legend of Czech hockey”, but injuries meant he could only play a few games alongside Pleky.

The Kladno fans prepared a special chant for the game, singing “Captain Pleky, the Kladno Avenger” during the match. Since his return to Kladno in 2021, Plekanec has been recognized as Kladno’s “Avenger”, like the Marvel heroes.

Here are some photos from the ceremony:

Some more photos from the Knights’ Facebook page. pic.twitter.com/MICNpqYH7P

– Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) November 20, 2023

Unfortunately, his former team lost 4-2 on the night. Kladno would probably still have liked to have had the help of its precious “Avenger”.

Tomas Plekanec was forced to retire from hockey at the age of 41 due to back problems. He had played the first 9 games of the current season, but had to give up as the pain became unbearable for him.