Former NHL defenceman Roman Polak announces his retirement
After an eighteen-year professional career, including fourteen in the NHL, defenceman Roman Polak has announced his retirement from hockey.
The 36-year-old was selected in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, and went on to play 806-career games with St. Louis, Toronto, San Jose, and Dallas. He appeared in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final with the San Jose Sharks.
Instead of returning to the Dallas Stars for their playoff run in the bubble in 2020, Polak decided to return home to Czechia and played the final two seasons of his career with HC Vitkovice.
Note: the following is translated from Czech
"There were more reasons why I decided to end my career. But the main thing is that I lost my appetite for hockey. I don't want it to sound bad, but hockey didn't come back to me from my point of view and I didn't give what I gave it the whole time I played it. Another important reason is the health side. I think I've suffered a lot in my career and I don't want to experience new pain again. I realized that hockey is no longer fulfilling me, as it once did, and I came to the conclusion that it was time to end it. I'd rather break it over my knee now. It would be worse for me and even my performances would not be at the appropriate level," Polak said.
Congratulations to Roman Polak on a long career and we wish him all the best in retirement.
Source: HC Vitkovice.
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