“I am happy with what I have achieved,” said Austria’s athlete of the year 2007. The past year was a lot of fun for him “to be at home and to train my boys”, Vanek reported that he had family life with him Mrs. Ashley and the three sons Blake (twelve years), Luka Robert and Kade Ashton (both nine) in Stillwater, Minnesota, “really enjoy”. “So I won’t train any further and will try to come back next year,” he said.
Vanek played his last NHL match on March 23 of the previous year. At that time he was wearing the jersey of the Detroit Red Wings, for which he had already played in the 2016/17 season. The winger started his playing career in the world’s best ice hockey league on October 5, 2005 with the Buffalo Sabers, where he was under contract until October 27, 2013.
1,098 games in 14 NHL seasons
Other career positions in the NHL were the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks and the Columbus Blues Jackets. In total, Vanek played a total of 1,098 games in a total of 14 NHL seasons (1,029 in the basic round and 69 in the play-off). In these he scored a total of 825 points (394 goals / thereof 21 in the play-off and 431 assists / thereof 15 in the play-off).
However, his resignation does not mean his departure from ice hockey. “I want to get back in the game and eventually become a GM,” Vanek said of his plans for the future. “I have learned so much from playing for so many different teams in the last six or seven years of my career,” said Austria’s biggest ice hockey star.
“Wants to stay connected”
Vanek therefore knows what is important to form a successful NHL team. “I’ve made a lot of notes over the past six or seven years about what the guys really like. Because at the end of the day it depends. You need to have 23 players who not only appreciate where they are, but also love where they are, who play together and are there for each other. So I want to stay connected to the game and one day become GM and do some of the things I’ve learned in my own career. ”
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