It has been reported by a Czech outlet that Dallas Stars forward Martin Hanzal is retiring. The 33-year-old forward from Pisek, Czechoslovakia played in the NHL for 12 seasons. His career scoring totals show him with 673 games, 127 goals and 211 assists. He collected 34 power play goals and assisted on 54 others. He was a 9.2 percent shooter and had decent possession numbers with a 50.9 Corsi For and a 1.8 Relative Corsi.
Martin Hanzal Retires
Martin Hanzal played the majority of his career in Arizona. He was the 17th overall selection by the then Phoenix Coyotes back in 2005. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild in February of 2017 and played just 20 games. Hanzal then signed with the Stars in July of 2017 as a free agent. He managed only 45 games in Dallas as injures plagued him throughout his career.
Dallas signed him to a three-year $14.25 million contract and he only played 45 games. He had recurring back injuries which required surgery. It’s tough and almost impossible for a professional athlete to overcome back surgery. Since his contract expires at the end of the current season, it seemed a good time for him to hang up his skates.
Hanzal Never Reached Stardom
Hanzal was a big guy coming in at 6′-6″, 230 pounds and wasn’t really an offensive player. Due to his size, he was assigned to cover all the opposing star centres the team faced. When asked why he sustained so many injuries, he mentioned that since he was given the chore of guarding centres from the other teams, it took a toll on his body.
His best offensive season was 2015-16 when he gathered 13 goals and 18 assists. His defensive style and sure size fit the teams in Arizona. Under head coach Dave Tippett he managed to shut down opposing teams up the middle and that led to the team’s success. His best performance in the playoffs came in the 2011-12 postseason. He got three goals and three assists in 12 games. The team went to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the Los Angeles Kings.
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