Evgeni Nabokov Announces Retirement
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(SAN JOSE, Ca.) — Two days after being traded to the San Jose Sharks, Evgeni Nabokov has announced he will retire from professional hockey.
The 15-year veteran was traded Monday to the San Jose Sharks, the team that drafted the goalie in 1994, from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It means a lot that this circle is coming to an end and I’m happy I will retire as a Shark,” Nabokov said.
Nabokov, 39, played ten seasons for the Sharks. He was taken in the ninth round with the 219th pick. He eventually won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2001.
He was a major part of the Sharks first conference finals appearance in 2004, where they would lose to the Calgary Flames. The team would again reach the finals in 2010 before being swept by the Chicago Blackhawks. Both losses still both bother him to this day.
“I’m really disappointed that we were never able to win the Stanley Cup and deliver that extra save that we needed in the conference finals,” Nabokov said.
After the 2009-2010 season he moved on to play three years with the New York Islanders. He played this season with the Lightning until his recent trade.
Nabokov is the Sharks all-time leader in several categories with 293 wins, 50 shutouts and 563 games played. He is also one of 11 goalies in NHL history to score a goal.
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