There will be no more sequels for The Dominator.
In an interview given to Czech magazine iSport, Dominik Hasek announced he was set to retire from hockey -- again -- after failing to receive an offer from an NHL club.
“I prepared, I wanted to play. But for what I was studying (return to the NHL), it did not work. I do not see that it has changed.
“I wanted to do everything possible to get back to the NHL, but the other party did not feel like me. Finally I decided it’s not worth it.”
This is Hasek’s third retirement since the 2002-03 season.
The topic of Hasek’s most recent comeback attempt gained steam in July when, during an interview with ProHockeyTalk, agent Ritch Winter said the 47-year-old would play in the NHL this season.
“He will play,” Winter told PHT. “There is no option. He will play and he will excel and he will do all of the things he can do.
“That’s his view of it. There’s one objective, and that’s it — he won’t fail.”
A bold statement, though to be fair to both Winter and Hasek, extenuating circumstances played a major role in the Dominator failing to latch on with a club.
The current work stoppage and literally zero room at the AHL level meant Hasek’s entries to the league were far and few between.
He had been training with Czech Extraliga team Pardubice, but seemed to realize a goalie three years shy of 50 would need much more than practice to draw a contract for an NHL club.
That said, don’t write off Hasek from professional hockey entirely. If his past retirements tell us anything, it’s that he can’t stay away from the game for very long.