For the second time in his sixteen year NHL career, goaltender Dominik Hasek has announced his retirement.

Unlike his first retirement at the end of the 2001-02 season, which also came following a Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup championship and last about a season and a half, expect this one to be permanent.

Hasek pretty much split the Red Wings goaltending duties this past season with Chris Osgood due in part to injury, but while their goals-against average this season was almost identical (his 2.14 to Osgood’s 2.09) and Hasek had one more shutout (5) than Osgood (4), Ozzie had the better save percentage (.914 to Hasek’s .902).

It was in this year’s playoffs, however, that it was apparent Hasek was now past his prime.

After an outstanding performance in last year’s post-season (a 10-8 record, with a 1.79 GAA, a .923 SP and 2 shutouts), Hasek struggled in the Wings opening round series against the Nashville Predators (2-2, 2.91 GAA and a .888 SP) and was lifted midway through Game Four after a horrible outing, replaced by Osgood, who was terrific in carrying the Wings to the Stanley Cup.

The 43-year-old Hasek rode the pine the rest of the way and was a model teammate, not sulking or voicing his discontent, probably because warming the bench for so long gave him enough time to think about his career and to realize that this time, it was truly over.

And it was a tremendous career, as Hasek was unquestionably one of the greatest goalies in NHL history as well as in international competition, playing an unorthodox flopping style that looked out of place in the era of the butterfly goaltender but due to Hasek’s amazing flexibility, concentration and vision worked incredibly well.

He won 389 NHL regular season and 65 playoff games, with 81 regular season and 14 playoff shutouts. His regular season career GAA was 2.20 and SP was .922 and in the playoffs his career numbers were 2.02 and .925.

Hasek was also a six-time Vezina Trophy winner, including a streak of five in six years from 1994 to 1999, and was the first goaltender since Jacques Plante in 1962 to win the Hart Trophy, which he did twice in 1997 and 1998.

He won most of those awards as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, when he had his greatest seasons, which included backstopping an upstart Sabres team to the 1999 Stanley Cup final, which they lost to the Dallas Stars due to a controversial OT winning goal in Game Six.

Those performances with the Sabres earned him the nickname of “The Dominator” and in those days few would dispute that it was well-earned,

It was with the Detroit Red Wings where Hasek would twice have his name on the Stanley Cup, in 2002 where he played every game as their starting goalie and in 2008.   

In his native Czech Republic he’s a hockey god, named the country’s hockey player of the 20th century, and carried that nation’s men’s hockey team to an upset gold medal victory at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Hasek was definitely one of a kind, and he’s a certainty for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Check out this link for more on Hasek's incredible hockey career and life.

- The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed veteran winger Mark Recchi on waivers today. The 39-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch since November 12th, and has only 8 points this season.

In a recent Foxsports.com article I suggested Recchi might be the biggest name dealt prior to the start of the NHL’s Christmas “trade freeze” on December 19th, but with this move it appears rival clubs aren’t interested in trading for him.

Recchi’s decline this season was quite sudden, considering he’d just come off his fifteenth 20+ goal season of his career last year, and helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006 with 16 points in 25 playoff games.

But it seems age has caught up to Recchi, and once he was taken off Sidney Crosby’s line earlier this season his offensive production dried up.

Still, when reports came out last week of Recchi being shopped by the Penguins it seemed possible that a rival NHL team seeking offensive depth might be willing to take a chance on him. He’s still highly-regarded around the league and carries an affordable salary. It now appears that’s not enough.

It’s possible that he could be claimed off waivers but it’ll be interesting to see what happens if he doesn’t. The Penguins could send him to their minor league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but there’s a possibility Recchi might refuse to report, as former teammate John LeClair did last season.

Should Recchi go that route, the Penguins could suspend him or give him an unconditional release thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

If he does report, the Penguins could then place him on recall waivers, in hopes another team might be willing to pick him up for only half of his remaining salary.

The Pens could also decide not to demote and keep him in the press box, as the Montreal Canadiens did last season with winger Sergei Samsonov, but that probably won’t be an acceptable option for Recchi or the Pens at this point.

- This past weekend one of the last of the original Minnesota Wild players retired.

Veteran center Wes Walz, long considered the heart and soul of the Wild franchise since its inception, announced his retirement on December 1 following a month-long leave of absence to ponder his future.

Prior to being selected by the Wild in the 2000 expansion draft Walz has bounced around the NHL with Boston, Detroit, Calgary and Philadelphia, plus spent time in the AHL, IHL and Europe.

The Wild however gave Walz’s career a much-needed boost, as he would go on to become a valuable checking forward on the defensive-minded club. His best season with the club came in 2002-03, helping the Wild advance to the Western Conference finals and earning a nomination for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward.

The hard-working Walz never posted up Hockey Hall of Fame numbers but he was a fan favorite in Minnesota and will always have place in the hearts of Wild fans.

In response to one of my readers, I think the title of this post neatly sums up my feelings about the foot-dragging of Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne regarding retirement.

Throughout the off-season we've heard that both players were "leaning toward retirement". It's easy to understand why. Niedermayer had won everything at every level of the game that a professional hockey defenseman can win and now has nothing left to prove, while Selanne could cap his sixteen year NHL career by going out at the top of his game with a Stanley Cup ring.

Yet here it is September, NHL training camps are opening next week, and no real word yet from either guy. The Ducks have called a press conference for today to discuss Niedermayer's status, where it's believed they'll announce he hasn't yet made up his mind about retirement but won't be attending the start of the Ducks training camp.

If this were any other player than a star of Niedermayer's caliber, Ducks GM Brian Burke would be publicly lambasting this guy for his indecisiveness, telling the blueliner to make up his mind or Burke would make it for him.

As for Selanne, he's an unrestricted free agent but he's believed taking his cue off Niedermayer, since any attempt at returning to the Ducks this season will likely require Niedermayer to retire in order to free up the cap space for Burke to re-sign "the Finnish Flash".

But with Niedermayer still under contract for two more years at $6.75 million per, his indecisiveness is not only handcuffing Burke if he wants to re-sign Selanne but also limiting any potential player roster decisions that could emerge during training camp or early in the season.

I have great respect for Niedermayer and Selanne, and having gone through a major career change myself recently, I acknowledge that retiring from something you've done for most of your life isn't easy.

But their indecisiveness isn't fair to Ducks management, players or fans. Niedermayer and Selanne have had over two months to decide on retirement, more than enough time to weight the pros and cons.

Either retire or don't, fellas, but make a decision soon!

As the 2006-07 NHL regular season winds down and the playoffs approaching, there are several veteran NHL players who may be playing their final season in the big league. Here’s a look at the more notable who may be filing retirement papers after this season.

Peter Forsberg. Concerns about his surgically reconstructed right foot and the effect its having on his game drove rumors all season that Forsberg might consider retirement. A lot depends on how well he performs with the Nashville Predators this season. If he fails to be an impact player as he’s always been, that might force him into considering retirement.

John LeClair. Released by the Pittsburgh Penguins mid-way through this season, there’s talk his former club, the Philadelphia Flyers, might bring him back to play out the final games of this season. That would allow him to retire as a member of the team where he had his greatest success, as the league's dominant power forward in the late 1990's.

Jeremy Roenick. “JR Superstar” has been anything but since the lockout, as age has finally caught up with the loquacious Roenick. He’d hoped to be dealt from the Phoenix Coyotes at the trade deadline but nobody was interested. He’s now hinting at retirement and if nobody offers to sign him as a UFA this summer, he’ll be done.

Pierre Turgeon. His offensive production has been in serious decline since 2001, due in large part to injuries that hampered his performance. He was limited to 17 games this season, won’t be re-signed by the Colorado Avalanche and probably won’t attract interest in the UFA market. With over 500 goals and over 1300 points, Turgeon was once a terrific offensive talent, but it’s now obvious his best days are done.

Tony Amonte. His scoring touch has faded over the past three seasons. He might still find employment perhaps as a checking forward but his main selling point throughout his career was his ability to score. Checking forwards are easily affordable, and Amonte without his scoring punch may not be an attractive option for NHL teams this summer.

Bryan Berard. He made a heroic return from a horrific eye injury, but back problems may finally bring his career to a halt. He missed part of last season and most of this season due to back surgery. The Columbus Blue Jackets tried shopping him at the deadline, even placed him on waivers, but no team wanted him. Having taken himself out of the lineup for health reasons for the rest of the season, he may have played his final NHL game.

Sean Burke. After spending most of this season in the minors, Burke found some new life after getting dealt to the LA Kings, where he’s posted up respectable numbers. However, he had respectable numbers last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning but that didn’t prevent him landing in the minors for financial reasons. He might be able to find a new club this summer as a UFA, as the goalie market this summer isn’t particularly deep, but it’s also possible that he could be out of a job.

Trevor Linden. The one-time heart of the Vancouver Canucks has been a spent force over the past two seasons, notching only 16 points last season and 18 in 66 games thus far this season. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer and is likely playing his final games as an NHL player.

Teppo Numminen.  He’s posted respectable numbers with the Buffalo Sabres this season, and his years of experience has made him a valuable component on the Sabres blueline. He may still find a market for his services as an unrestricted free agent, but if the Sabres should win the Stanley Cup this spring, one has to wonder if he might consider retirement.

Glen Wesley. It was believed Wesley would retire after winning the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes last year, but he re-signed a one-year contract with the club for this season. With the depth in blueliners now on the ‘Canes roster, however, he may not get another contract with them this season, and his declining totals could make it difficult for Wesley to land with another club.