Tuesday morning, longtime Red Wing Kris Draper officially announced his retirement from the NHL after 17 seasons.
Draper will continue to be part of the organization taking a role within the front office.
“This is something that I’ve thought long and hard about with my family and teammates,” said Draper, who was flanked by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and GM Ken Holland during the announcement. “This is the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make because I love the game of hockey, and I love being a Red Wing.
“I consider myself one of the luckiest athletes of all time, playing for this organization for 17 years.”
Also in attendance during his announcement were former grind line members Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby and Joe Kocur.
Draper finishes his career playing in 1,137 regular-season games with the Red Wings and ranks in at #5 on the all-time list for the Wings.
After being selected with the 62nd overall pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1989 NHL Draft he accumulated 161 career regular-season goals and 203 assists. In 222 playoff games, he had 24 goals and 22 assists.
In what may be the best single dollar the organization ever spent after acquiring Draper from the Jets for just that, he ended up going on to win the Selke Award as the league’s best two-way forward after the 2003-04 season. That season he had a career-best 24 goals and 16 assists.
Source: Fox Sports Detroit
