Report: Niklas Kronwall considering retirement after 2018-19 season
By Tom Mitsos
5 years agoThe creator of “Kronwalled” could be hanging up his skates next year.
NHL.com’s Mike Zesberger reported Niklas Kronwall, 37, understands he isn’t the player he used to be and can’t keep up with the fast pace of the game. The Swedish defenseman said:
I love the game. I can’t say enough good things about it. But at the same time you have to be realistic.I know where I’m at right now. A year from now I don’t know where I’ll be at. I’d love to sign [for] another year but let’s face it. The team’s getting younger. I’m getting older. The game’s getting faster. I’m not the same player I was 10 years ago. But I’m going to do what I can this year both on the ice and off the ice. And just try to be as efficient as I possibly can.
Kronwall is entering the final year of a seven-year contract he signed in 2011 that features a cap hit of $4.75 million. He told Zesberger there have been no talks of an extension.
Kronwall was selected by the Red Wings in the first round (No. 29) of the 2000 NHL draft. In 874 NHL games, all with Detroit, he has 405 points (80 goals, 325 assists).
He is 13th in Red Wings history in games played, 11th in assists and 20th in points. Kronwall, who had 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) in 79 games last season, said he believes he can overcome his knee issues this season in order to be a contributing player but is uncertain beyond this upcoming season.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Kronwall was a 59.94 Corsi for percentage player when that stat started to be tracked in the 2007-08 season but has slowly been regressing ever since, dipping below 50 percent during the 14-15 season. He was 48.76 in 17-18, slightly above his career low of 48.21 in 16-17.
Known for his massive hits in which he generally skated backward into an opposing player, referred to as “Kronwalled,” he was a master of pinching at the offensive blue line, looking to hit unsuspecting forwards.
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He certainly toed the line between clean hits and head hits; he was only suspended once: a hit on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov during Game 6 of the 2015 playoffs. He missed Game 7, and the Red Wings lost that game.
Kronwall’s hits came during a time when the league wasn’t as concerned with hits to the head. It’s pretty safe to say he would be a bit more careful throwing those hits in today’s NHL, for fear of suspension.
Feel free to reminisce on his glory days with the above video and remember the good times of a solid two-way defenseman who had forwards thinking twice about carrying the puck out of their defensive zone.
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