Dallas Drake announces his retirement
After 16 seasons in the NHL culminating in a Stanley Cup win, Dallas Drake announced his retirement earlier today.
“I think it’s a good way for me to go out,” he said.
The 39-year-old Drake said he’s still mentally fit to play, but that “the wear and tear on my body” has become impossible to ignore.
“I just don’t recover very well anymore,” he said. “Physically, I’m done.”
Drake ended the 2006-07 season on the Blues’ injured reserve with a wrist injury. He has several minor injuries this season.
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Drake was “a big part of us winning the Stanley Cup this year.”
“The physical pounding that Dallas laid on the other teams’ defences is something we didn’t have in the last couple of years,” Holland said.
There were certainly points during the season where Detroit fans questioned the wisdom of Holland’s signing of Drake, but come playoff time we could certainly feel his veteran presence. Plus the team had a greater incentive to win the Cup for Drake so that didn’t hurt either. Congrats to Drake on a great career and a wonderful final NHL season!
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