[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]David Legwand is calling it a career.
The 36-year-old announced in a statement that he’s walking away from the league after 16 seasons.
“What a great ride this was, especially having the chance to play nearly 1,000 games for my drafting club in Nashville, and seeing the growth of the game there; to fulfilling a dream of playing for my hometown Red Wings; to experiencing the positive vibe of playing in Canada’s capital of Ottawa; and to end with the talented players of the Buffalo Sabres in my final season,” said David Legwand, in a press release from the NHLPA.
Legwand didn’t have a spectacular, star-turn during his career, but considering how it started, it’s amazing he went that long. Legwand was the first draft pick in Nashville Predators history and was expected to become the face of the franchise. While he enjoyed 14 full seasons in Nashville, that never materialized.
Instead, the second overall selection was a consistent force hovering around 40 points each season, while topping out a 63 in 2006-2007. He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, before signing with the Senators and getting dealt to Buffalo to finish out his career.
Legwand’s career longevity is the proof his career was a success. He never became more than a middle-six forward, but he managed to play more than 1,100 career games and scoring more than 600 points. Not everybody can be Mario Lemieux, but Legwand managed to extend his career much longer than initially expected. He’s not a Hall of Famer, but he’ll always have a place in Nashville. That’s special.
