today 16:33
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Slovak hockey forward Marián Gáborík officially ended his career on Thursday. He did so at the age of 39, but he has not played competitively since the 2017/18 season. He informed about his decision on social networks.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to play in the best league in the world since I was eighteen. That journey has been spectacular, amazing and incredible.” stated on his profile.
Gáborík started his career in Dukla Trenčín, for which he made his debut in the highest Slovak competition at the age of sixteen and has long held the record of the youngest shooter of the highest Slovak competition. It was not until this year that the striker of Banská Bystrica, Dalibor Dvorský, overcame him at the age of 15, 7 months and 18 days.
The former elite winger played for Dukla two seasons before going overseas, and his performances attracted him so much that Minnesota chose him from the 3rd place in the draft in 2000. He played in the NHL the following season, scoring 36 points in 71 duels (18 +18).
In the next, he already subdued a 30-goal goal, which he managed to do a total of seven times in the profile. In 2007/08, he wore a captain’s badge on a Minnesota jersey and scored a career maximum of 42 goals, which he repeated two years later in the New York Rangers.
Subsequently, he also worked at Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings, with whom he won the famous Stanley Cup in 2014. After five years in California, he headed to Ottawa during the 2017/18 season, for which he played 16 matches and scored seven points (4 + 3). The vintage was no longer complete due to back problems. He has not appeared in a competitive match since.
In the basic part of the NHL, he played a total of 1,035 matches with a balance of 407 goals and 408 assists. He scored 58 points (32 + 26) in 84 playoffs.
Jason Spezza proves that he does not belong to scrap metal:
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