Former Pittsburgh Penguins first-round pick and Russian national team captain Alexei Morozov is calling it a career.
Morozov announced his retirement from professional hockey on Sunday, according to IIHF.com.
“I took the decision for myself some time ago on vacation. I already had the decision in my head and can now announce it: I decided to end my career as a hockey player,” Morozov told R-Sport.
“It’s a deliberate decision. I don’t want to move from club to club, running and looking for something. I have never done that in my career and don’t want to do that now. Therefore I decided that it would be better for me to end my career.”
The 37-year-old played seven seasons for the Penguins from 1997-98 to the 2003-04 campaign, posting 219 points in 451 regular season games. The Penguins selected him 24th overall in the 1995 Entry Draft.
Morozov played 10 more seasons in Russia after his final NHL season, racking up 527 regular season points in 513 games for Ak-Bars Kazan and CSKA Moscow.
He was Russia's captain between 2007 and 2011, winning two gold medals, one silver and one bronze at the world championships in that span.
Morozov was named the best forward at the world junior hockey championship in 1997, and was a part of Russia's Olympic silver medal squad in '98.
As for his future, he says he'd like to stay in the game.
"I’m interested in staying and working in hockey. I know a lot and have collected a lot of experience over the years. If there will be interesting proposals, I’ll be happy to consider them."
