Peter Bondra Makes Retirement Official

After Peter Bondra scored his 500th NHL goal, and finished last season with an awful 14 points and 34 games, I called on him to just get it done with and retire from the NHL.

It's not that I don't enjoy having Bondra in the league, but it is rather painful watching a legend struggle to keep up with the new generation. Clearly, Bondra's time was up and he ought to go out without a huge fork sticking in his backside.

Well, Bondra announced his NHL retirement today, after a lot of pondering, and will become the general manager of Slovakia's national club.

"I kept it a secret for a long time. They will know overseas only after this press conference," Bondra said, according to a report from the Slovak national hockey association. "I hope I can help Slovakia win another medal at the world championship."

Bondra's final numbers: 503 goals and 389 assists in 1,081 games. I don't think it'll be quite enough to get him into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, but he was certainly one of the league's most dangerous offensive forwards during most of his career. With a smokin' slapshot, incredible skating speed, and nose for the net, Bondra was a threat that the opposition absolutely had to watch out for.

When I look at Marian Gaborik, who is injured AGAIN, I wonder how, if ever, he will live up to Bondra's status as the Slovak's most dangerous goal-scorer. Gaborik has the same raw tools, but can't stay healthy, and seems to lack the natural sniper instinct that Bondra possessed.