Pavel Datsyuk appears to have played his final game in the NHL.
Prior to the playoffs, the Russian sniper announced that he would retire from the NHL at the end of this season for family reasons.
On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated Datsyuk's Detroit Red Wings from the playoffs with a tense 1-0 victory in Game 5 of their series.
Datsyuk wasn't ready to comment on his future in the NHL directly after the game but he was thankful for all of the support he received in Detroit.
"I had a really good time, a really fun time," Datsyuk told Fox Sports Detroit. "It is special when I play in front of 20,000 people. It's an unbelievable feeling. It's awesome. I'm happy [to wear] the Red Wings' logo."
"I really love the fans and I'm happy to [see them] in any city we play in. They always support us. I always appreciated them. I'm happy we have great fans."
Datsyuk registered 113 points in 156 playoffs games but failed to record a point in the five-game series against the Lightning. It was the first time that Datsyuk failed to register a point in the playoffs since 2002-2003
"We had many chances but if you don't score many goals, you won't win games. We didn't score more than two goals [in the series] so it is not easy to win if you don't score two ... if you don't score, you don't win."
In his 14-year-career, Datsyuk led the Red Wings in scoring nine times and most importantly, helped Detroit make the playoffs every season.
Detroit has made the playoffs for 25 straight seasons – the longest active streak in North American professional sports.
The Russian centre recorded 918 points in 953 career regular-season games. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner as well as three-time Selke Trophy winner and four-time Lady Byng recipient.
While Datsyuk may not be in the NHL next season, he definitely has left fans with some unforgettable moves.
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