Former Czech National Team Goalkeeper Alexander Salák Likely Retiring from Professional Hockey

Former national team goalkeeper Alexander Salák missed the last season completely and will probably not return to professional hockey.

“I probably won’t be back,” he admitted in the Pivo, Sunar and Prachy podcast. “I didn’t mention it anywhere, but after we got relegated in Sweden last year, I didn’t enjoy it anymore. I didn’t see a benefit in sports anymore.”

“I’m at an age where it’s hard for anyone to marry you. I would have just finished it somewhere for some money and I would be without a family,” he explains. “It didn’t make sense to me at all.”

“After last season, I said to myself that I’m probably going to miss it. My wife advised me not to say it anywhere yet – and that I would see if I would miss it or not. And so far I don’t miss it at all,” confided the thirty-six-year-old Salak.

Salák’s extremely successful career seems to be over. He made it all the way to the NHL, played twice for Florida. He also worked in Finland, the KHL, in extra-league Sparta or in Sweden, where he won the title with Färjestad. He also competed in three world championships and the 2014 Olympic Games.

Now he is dedicated to his large family, and he and his wife Michaela are expecting their sixth child. “I take it as a blessing. I am very glad that I have time for my children. I want to fully enjoy this period, when they are little, with them,” explains Salák.

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