Hasek cites lack of motivation for retirement after 16 seasons
Dominik Hasek, the goaltender known as the Dominator, retired yesterday because he said he lacked the motivation for a 17th season.
Dominik Hasek
, the goaltender known as the Dominator, retired yesterday because he said he lacked the motivation for a 17th season.
"I don't feel today that I'm ready to compete on the highest level," Hasek said during a news conference at Joe Louis Arena. "Not because of the physical things, but because I need motivation every day . . . Right now I don't feel it's there, and I don't want to disappoint anybody."
Hasek's announcement came 5 days after the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in six games over Pittsburgh.
The six-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goaltender and two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's MVP leaves on a mixed note.
Hasek, the only goalie to win the MVP award twice, lost his job during Detroit's run to the Cup. The 43-year-old from the Czech Republic was benched during the opening-round series in favor of Chris Osgood and never regained the starting job.
"I am leaving this game feeling very, very happy because of all the memories and all the friendships I have made with all of you," he said.
Hasek won 389 games with the Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks. He ranks 10th in NHL history in wins, 10th in goals-against average and is tied for sixth in shutouts, according to STATS.
During this past regular season with Detroit, he won 27 games and had a 2.14 goals-against average.
Colleges
* Brown University elevated assistant basketball coach Jesse Agel to replace Craig Robinson, who left after two seasons to take the job at Oregon State.
* The Pac-10's Tom Hansen, the longest-tenured Division I conference commissioner in the country, will retire next summer after 26 years on the job. He is 70.
Sport Stops
* Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. says he feels "like a loser" after Big Brown's stunning last-place finish in the Belmont Stakes, and he was still searching for answers about what went wrong.
* Banned sprinter Justin Gatlin has filed a lawsuit in a last-ditch effort to compete at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in less than 3 weeks.
* At prosecutors' request, a judge in Santa Ana, Calif., dismissed the case against a man who was accused of slipping a date-rape drug into the drink of former Olympic ice dancer Oksana "Pasha" Grishuk. *