Plekanec retires from NHL, hopes to play in Czech Republic
Tomas Plekanec announced his retirement from the NHL on Friday after the Montreal Canadiens placed him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.
An emotional #Habs Plekanec says, “I always wanted to retire as a Montreal Canadien.”
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) November 9, 2018
He said he spoke to his teammates around 10:30 this morning and that it was harder to do than he thought it would be.
However, while Plekanec's playing days in the NHL are now in the rearview mirror, he admits he's not quite ready to hang up the skates for good.
Tomas Plekanec says he wants to continue playing one or two years and will look for opportunities in the Czech Republic. His NHL playing days are over.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) November 9, 2018
Plekanec remarked on his time with the Habs and his now-former teammates during his announcement.
"I'm happy with what I've done here with the Canadiens," Plekanec said, per the team. "I can leave happy.
"I'm going to miss the guys. It's another family, coming here every morning. Now, it's gone. It's something I'm going to miss, for sure. I'm going to watch them and cheer for them."
The 36-year-old concludes his NHL career with 233 goals and 608 points in 1,001 games, with all but 17 of those contests coming as a member of the Canadiens.