Patrick Sharp is “probably” retiring after this season.
The 36-year-old assistant captain and winger acknowledged his likely retirement Friday night after the Blackhawks fell to the St. Louis Blues.
“It was a tough game out there, tough to concentrate with what was going on inside my head," he said after the game. "But, thankful that I was able to do that and the Hawks put that video on for me in the third, which was really special, and the guys standing out on the ice and making me do a lap was something I’ll always remember, so it was a special night.”
Sharp took a solo skate around the ice bumping fists with affectionate teammates while the crowd applauded.
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“I’m grateful I had the opportunity to come back to the Blackhawks,” he said, according to the team’s official Twitter account.
Sharp, originally from Winnipeg, began his career in Canada before playing for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2001.
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He was traded to the Hawks in 2005. He was traded to the Dallas Stars in 2015 before returning on a one-year contract to Chicago in 2017.
Head Hawks coach Joel Quenneville praised Sharp's prowess on the ice and essential role on the team.
“You look back and you think about today’s game and you think about the championships that [Sharp] was a significant part of, and the contribution he made to the team, and how well he was respected in the locker room, and his leadership, and he’s one of the guys who was a big part of the success we had," Quenneville said. "So it was one of those nights where you think about all the good situations he had here in Chicago, and his family grew up here, and a lot of good things happened, and he’s a big part of the community as well."
