A Week of Goodbyes

This week saw three players play their last regular season games, and while only one of those players is actually retired (I'll explain when I get to each player), it marks an end of an era.

Earlier in the week, Ryan Smyth announced that this would be his last year, and with the Edmonton Oilers out of the playoffs for the eight consecutive year, Saturday's game against Vancouver was going to be his last.  Edmonton decided to give him the captain's C for that game, something he hasn't held despite being a near-lifer in an Oilers uniform.  He failed to register a point in the game, but was given plenty of opportunity to break the team's all-time record for most power play goals, a record that he will share with his boyhood idol Glenn Anderson.  After the game, the Oilers fans and Canucks players acknowledged Smyth, with the fans giving him a standing ovation and Canucks players coming out to shake his hand.

While Smyth is officially retired, Teemu Selanne will still have some hockey left to play before his retirement.  He had announced that this would be his last year prior to the season, and with the Ducks in the playoffs, this is his last chance at a Stanley Cup, something that he has achieved in 2007.  He began his career with a bang, scoring 76 goals as a Winnipeg Jet to break a record for most goals by a rookie.  He joined the Ducks (then Mighty Ducks) in 1996 in a February trade and became one of their most recognizable stars in his first stint with the team.  He also played with San Jose and Colorado before rejoining the Ducks after the lockout.  The highlight of his career came in 2007 and the Stanley Cup win.  His last regular season game (he was also handed the captain's C for the game) came in a 3-2 overtime win against Colorado, and afterwards, he shared the stage with Colorado goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was a teammate of his when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup.

Though he has not announced his retirement (he has expressed desire to play next season), Sunday's win against the Boston Bruins may very well have been Martin Brodeur's last game as a New Jersey Devil.  Having been with the team that drafted him since the 1993-94 season in which he won the Calder Trophy, Brodeur has amassed three Stanley Cup championships (1995, 2000, 2003) and made two more appearances in the Stanley Cup championships (2001, 2012).  He holds the record for most wins and was the goaltender of record when Team Canada won gold in 2002.  After the game, fans acknowledged him with chants of "Thank you, Marty."