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Travis Zajac Announces Retirement from NHL
Travis Zajac Announces Retirement from NHL
Long-time New Jersey Devil Travis Zajac officially announced his retirement from the National Hockey League on Monday. Zajac, 36, signed a one-day contract with the Devils as an unrestricted free agent in order to retire with the team that drafted him back in 2004. In short, he knew his time as a professional athlete was up.
Quote from NHL.com:
“I took some time off in the summer, and at this age it gets harder and harder to stay at the top, be successful and be competitive,” Zajac said. “After just taking time off I really didn’t have that desire to keep training, keep pushing myself. I kind of feel like I ran out of a little gas and being around the family a lot more was starting to have a real big impact on my life.”
From 2006-2020, Travis Zajac spent 14 full seasons in New Jersey before being traded to the New York Islanders at the ’20-’21 NHL trade deadline. In 46 regular season games, he posted eight goals and 12 assists last season. Zajac also added a goal and an assist during the Islanders’ playoff run to the Conference Finals, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.
Zajac ranks in the top five for the Devils all-time in games played (4th – 1024), goals (3rd – 202), assists (5th – 348), and points (3rd – 550). Although he won’t make the NHL Hall of Fame, there’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest players to ever play in the Garden State. He was a versatile center who worked on both the penalty kill and power play. Zajac was also a valued NHLer in the faceoff circle, winning 53.8% of draws for his career.
The Devils will honor Travis Zajac with a ceremony devoted to completing his 1,000th NHL game on March 10. New Jersey plays Zajac’s hometown team, the Winnipeg Jets. He is looking forward to being a part of a full Prudential Center.
Quote from NHL.com:
“To have the fans in March and celebrate, they’ve embraced me with open arms from the beginning, through the highs, through the lows,” Zajac said. “You play the game, and the fans make it that much more special. Looking forward to that night. It’ll be special.”
As for the Devils, they will start a season without Travis Zajac on their roster for the first time since ’05-’06. With Zajac and many other veterans now gone, they are looking to make the playoffs with an extremely young roster.
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