Malkin, Crosby, Bergeron head list of 81 newly-retired players

Evgeni “Damn” Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron are among 81 EURO League players who decided to retire hockey after Season 14 ended.

Malkin, who always seemed to beat the Berlin Smurfs early in his career, is currently 7th all-time in scoring in the league with 1,134 points in 1,040 games. He is also 7th in goals and his shooting percentage (13.9) is better than anyone in the Top 50 all-time scorers except for his Paris linemate for about 9 years, Cory Perry.

Crosby is 18th all-time in scoring, spending most of his career in Belfast and Edinburgh; while Bergeron leaves as Mr. Zurich Lions. He spent his entire career with the team and finished with 905 points in 1,085 games. His contributions in the face-off circle and as a defensive forward were monumental. He ended up with 204 more takeaways than giveaways and his winning percentage on draws (58.3) was only behind Jonathan Toews among players who won at least 10,000 face-offs.

Of the 81 retirees, 14 were on rosters last season and six of them were on the Pro Squad (Malkin, Crosby, Bergeron, Ryan Callahan, Michael Grabner and goalie Alex Stalock.)