1978:
Pavel Datsyuk
is born in Sverdlovsk, Russia. The Detroit Red Wings select Datsyuk, a center, in the sixth round (No. 171) of the 1998 NHL Draft, but he doesn't come to North America until the start of the 2001-02 season, just in time to help them win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons. Datsyuk becomes one of the League's elite two-way players, winning the
Selke Trophy
as the best defensive forward in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He also wins the
Lady Byng Trophy
four times in a row (2006-09).
Datsyuk finishes his NHL career with 918 points (314 goals, 604 assists) in 953 games during 14 seasons. He has back-to-back 97-point seasons in 2007-08 (when the Red Wings win the Cup) and 2008-09 (when they lose Game 7 of the Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins). He also becomes one of the best in the NHL at the shootout, and the term "Datsyukian deke" is coined for some of his most spectacular moves in the tiebreaker.
2016:
Brad Richards
, a center who plays on Stanley Cup winners with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks, announces his retirement after 15 seasons in the NHL. Richards wins the
Conn Smythe Trophy
in 2004 after helping the Lightning win the
first championship
in their history, and he plays for Chicago's Cup-winning team in 2015. He ends his NHL career with 932 points (298 goals, 634 assists) in 1,126 regular-season games, and 105 points (37 goals, 68 assists) in 146 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Lightning, Dallas Stars, Rangers, Blackhawks and Red Wings.