After announcing at the end of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs that he would step away from the game, today American forward Joe Pavelski officially announced his retirement from pro hockey just five days after turning 40, capping a remarkable 18-year career with over 1,000 points in over 1,300 career games.

The 205th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski debuted for the San Jose Sharks in 2006, the start of a thirteen-year tenure that saw “The Big Pavelski,” alongside the likes of future Hall of Famers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, turn the Sharks into a perennial playoff powerhouse, coming within two games of the Stanley Cup in 2016, his first season wearing the “C” as Sharks captain. After three more seasons in the Bay, Pavelski signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent in 2019, where he would spend his final five pro seasons, again returning to the Cup Finals in 2020, falling to Tampa in six. Following the 2024 playoffs, Pavelski, the second-oldest player in teh NHL, confirmed his career was done, ending with 476 goals and 1,068 points in 1,332 career games, along with another 143 points in 201 career playoff games, only missing the playoffs twice in eighteen seasons. Pavelski, a four-time All-Star, retires as the record-holder for most playoff goals by an American, at 74, and one of the most dominant U.S. power forwards in history.

A native of Plover, Wisconsin, Pavelski’s late draft stock prevented him from playing for the national junior team, debuting with the senior team at the 2009 World Championship in Switzerland, his lone Worlds appearance, thanks to only missing the NHL playoffs twice in nearly two decades. Pavelski’s clutch the NHL landed him a spot with the Olympic team the following season in Vancouver, capturing Silver, returning to the Olympic squad in Sochi four years later, finishing fourth. Pavelski made his final Team USA appearance at the 2016 World Cup, leading the squad as team captain into Toronto.

Due to his limited role with USA Hockey, Pavelski only captured the IHLC once in his career, in the lead-up to the 2016 World Cup in Columbus, Ohio. We wish Joe and his family the very best for his retirement and the things to come!

Photo Credit: USA Hockey Magazine – IIHF – HHOF – IOC