He is in the US capital to pack up his moving luggage and say goodbye to his Capitals teammates.
– I already sold the house before the summer, so now we are here to take care of the last things before it goes home to Stockholm at the end of September, says Carl.
Hagelin is happy about all the sympathy expressed by former teammates in the last two days since he announced via Instagram on Wednesday that his career is over.
– Many people have contacted me and I have received so much love in recent days, which I am very touched by. It means an incredible amount to me, says Carl Hagelin.
He says he chose to wait on the decision until this week to give himself as much time as possible to feel whether it was possible to continue playing despite the limited vision of the operated eye from March 2022.
– I felt that I did not have full control when I was driving at full speed. The pressure on the eye increased and I couldn’t see exactly where the puck was on the ice. It got a little blurry in the eye, says the two-time Stanley Cup champion.
The Doctor: Can’t play any further
Hagelin went to Washington to meet with the doctor who operated on him and discuss the situation.
– The doctor said the same thing, it is not possible to continue playing under these conditions.
Carl Hagelin can look back on a successful hockey career, which began with four years of college hockey at the University of Michigan.
He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 6th round in 2007 and debuted with the club in the 2011-12 season after starting the professional adventure in the club’s farm team in the AHL the year before.
Hagelin won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
– I am happy about everything I have been able to experience. I’ve had the chance to play with the best and see them from the first floor, says Carl.
He’s referring to Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh and Alexander Ovetchkin in Washington, among others.
– My thought was to continue playing for a few more years, but now the most important thing for me is to take the next step in life. I want to stay in hockey and there are already a few opportunities that have been presented to me, which I will think about when I get home to Stockholm. After sixteen years in the USA, it will now be Sweden, at least in the coming year, says Carl Hagelin.
He played 713 games in the NHL and produced 296 points, 110 goals and 186 assists.
“I don’t think that will happen”
The last four seasons he played, Hagelin represented the Washington Capitals.
In an interview with Expressen on April 5 this year, Hagelin talked about the severe eye injury he suffered during a practice with the Capitals in March 2022.
Teammate Daniel Sprong swung his club so badly that the point hit Hagelin in one eye.
– Getting a swinging club in the eye during training is not something you think will happen to you. The first doctor who examined me was afraid that I would be forced to operate on the eye completely, Carl told Expressen.
Fortunately, the eye was saved. But Carl Hagelin had to keep quiet for two or three months first.
– My pupil had broken, it had cracked and they had to sew it back together. Then a new lens had to be sewn in. Now I can see with my eye again, but I have a dark spot in the middle. So I look around it and am aware that I have to change a little about how I move on the ice to be able to keep track of players coming from the side, said Hagelin during the Expressen interview.
The summer’s tests did not produce the results he had hoped for.
– I did everything I could to come back. Now it will be exciting to see how we cope with the Swedish winters, says Carl Hagelin with a laugh.
2023-09-01 06:24:09
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