Long-time NHL center David Legwand has announced his retirement at the age of 36 via the NHL Players’ Association.
Legwand was the inaugural draft pick for the Nashville Predators as he was the second overall pick back in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He spent parts of 15 seasons with the team, scoring 210 goals while adding 356 assists in 956 games. He remains Nashville’s franchise leader in goals, assists, and points as well as games played and game winning goals (41).
At the 2014 trade deadline, he was dealt to Detroit in exchange for Calle Jarnkrok, Patrick Eaves, and a second round pick. Legwand didn’t fare particularly well with the Red Wings, collecting just 11 points in 26 games (regular season and playoffs combined) before departing as a free agent that summer.
He played his final two seasons in the Atlantic Division with Ottawa in 2014-15 and Buffalo in 2015-16. With the Senators, he had 27 points in 80 games and was dealt along with goaltender Robin Lehner to Buffalo in the 2015 offseason in exchange for a first round draft pick. However, he struggled considerably with the Sabres with just 14 points in 79 games, the lowest full-season total of his career while playing under ten minutes per game for the first time.
For his career, Legwand played in 1,136 games between the four teams, scoring 228 goals and 390 assists along with 551 penalty minutes.
Although he is hanging up his skates, Legwand won’t be leaving hockey altogether as he is a part owner of the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I never actually thought Legwand would ever retire. Had Nashville prioritized offense in the early 2000’s, Legwand would have posted much better numbers.