Pavelski retires from NHL after 18 seasons

Joe Pavelski announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday after 18 seasons.

Pavelski, who turned 40 on July 11, had 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) in 82 regular-season games for the Dallas Stars last season but was less effective in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with four points (one goal, three assists) in 19 games. Dallas was defeated by the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final in six games.

"I think I'm ready to step away from the game on the playing side of things and go from there," the forward told "NHL Morning Skate" on SiriusXM. "There's no plan to play. I didn't want to use the 'r' word, I guess, right away. Just for the fact that there isn't ... nothing set in stone but that is the plan that we're not playing. I wanted just a little bit of extra time (after the season) to think about it.

"I was pretty comfortable with that plan then so I didn't want to keep people hanging and thinking and talking about certain things, but it's a pretty clear outlook. Over the last month, we've given it some more thought. ... It's just a great time for us as a family, as a career."

After the Stars were eliminated, Pavelski said he was not planning to play next season but didn't address his future beyond that.

"This was it for me. It was known for a while, probably," Pavelski said June 4. "The plan is not to play next year. … I don't want to say this is official, but the plan is not to be coming back. There will be more to come on that. Everything is still so raw, nothing official. There will be more words. I'm going to need a little bit of time to really put it together and figure it out that way. Most likely that was it and couldn't ask for a better opportunity and a better group of guys to be around."

Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round (No. 205) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski had 1,068 points (476 goals, 592 assists) in 1,332 regular-season games for the Stars and Sharks. He spent the past five seasons with the Stars after signing with them as a free agent on July 1, 2019.

Following the regular season, Pavelski ranked fifth in goals and games, and seventh in points among active players.

"I don't know if it will be Joe's last game or not, but absolute privilege of my coaching career to coach a guy like that,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said after a 2-1 loss to the Oilers in Game 6 on June 2. "Our young players are all better for having been around a guy like that."

Pavelski, who spent 13 seasons with San Jose, is second in Sharks history in goals (355), third in points (761) and games (1,104), and fourth in assists (406). He was captain from 2015-19, and had 100 points (48 goals, 52 assists) in 134 playoff games for San Jose, helping them to the playoffs in 12 of them, including advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

In five seasons with Dallas, Pavelski had 307 points (121 goals, 186 assists), including an NHL career-high 81 points (27 goals, 54 assists) in 2021-22. He played in every game the past four seasons and missed only two games in his five seasons with the team. Pavelski led the Stars with 13 goals in 27 games when they advanced to the Cup Final in 2020, but lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

Pavelski had 143 points (74 goals, 69 assists) in 201 playoff games and qualified for the postseason in 16 of his 18 seasons. Prior to retiring, he was first among active players in playoff goals and fourth in points, trailing Sidney Crosby (201) and Evgeni Malkin (180) of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Nikita Kucherov (167) of the Lightning.

Among United States-born players, Pavelski ranks fifth in points and goals, seventh in games played, and 11th in assists. He made the NHL Second All-Star team in 2013-14 when he scored an NHL career-high 41 goals and had 79 points in 82 games with the Sharks and played in four NHL All-Star Games (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022).

"I don't think it'll really set in until next year when you come back for camp and [Pavelski's] not there," Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said after the season ended. "When you're on the plane and he's right next to me and he's not in his seat. I just don't think there's enough words to say how big of a presence he is and it's not a hole you'll ever be able to fill. You'll do the best you can but you're never going to fill that.

"He's just the ultimate teammate and human being. Being his teammate for four years has been unbelievable. The things that he's taught me, it's not even the words he says, it's just how he does it. I think the best thing about him is he doesn't just say it, he embodies it. He's an all-time teammate."

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika and independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report