Dallas Stars veteran Tyler Seguin recently revealed he considered retiring in January 2021 while at a friend's cottage in Muskoka, Ontario.
"I looked over at my friend and said, 'I don't know if I'll ever be able to play anymore,'" Seguin told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger this week. "'My career might be over. This might be it.' I just didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel."
He added: "Whenever there are dark times, whenever I'm down, I think about that, about being in Muskoka, about where I've come from. That keeps you going."
At the time, Seguin was recovering from offseason surgery to repair significant damage in his hip. The 30-year-old sustained the injury in the 2020 postseason and played through the ailment during the Stars' run to the Stanley Cup Final.
The surgery limited him to just three games during the 2020-21 campaign, delaying his season debut until early May as Dallas missed the playoffs.
Seguin posted just 49 points in 81 games last season, an output he's certain he can eclipse by at least 15 points in 2022-23.
"I still think there is no way in (heck) I should be statistically where I was last year," he said. "So I keep thinking that, keep believing that, keep working towards that."
Seguin - who said he feels better than he has in the last three years - already has two goals and three assists through the Stars' first five games of the season.
Dallas, meanwhile, is 4-0-1 to start the 2022-23 campaign, with two of those wins coming against the Central Division rival Nashville Predators.
Seguin and the Stars face the Ottawa Senators on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.