David Legwand Retires: Latest Comments and Reaction

Veteran center David Legwand announced his retirement from the NHL on Thursday, via Craig Custance of ESPN:

"

What a great ride this was, especially having the chance to play nearly 1,000 games for my drafting cub in Nashville, and seeing the growth of the game there; to fulfilling a dream of playing for my hometown Red Wings; to experiencing the positive vibe of playing in Canada's capital of Ottawa; and to end with the talented players of the Buffalo Sabres in my final season. 

"

Legwand spent 17 years in the league, mostly with the Nashville Predators, as he played in 1,136 games while recording 618 points.

After a 2015-16 season with the Buffalo Sabres in which he put up five goals and nine assists in 79 games, the 36-year-old was unable to catch on anywhere else in the league this year.

Legwand broke into the league as an 18-year-old in 1998 as the first draft pick of the expansion Predators at No. 2 overall. The only player selected before him in that draft was Vincent Lecavalier, pieced together a Hall of Fame career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. 

The Detroit native developed into a solid two-way forward who added secondary scoring to a Nashville team that was trying to build its way up from expansion team to Western Conference contender. 

He recorded 12 seasons of 10 goals or more, including a 27-goal, 63-point performance (both career highs) during the 2006-07 season:

Legwand played 13 of his 17 NHL seasons in Nashville and retires as one of the franchise's greatest players:

Stat	Amount	Franchise Rank
Games	956	1st
Goals	210	1st
Assists	356	1st
Points	566	1st
Game-Winning Goals	41	1st

During the 2013-14 season, though, the Preds dealt him to the Red Wings, where he recorded 11 points in 21 games before hitting free agency and signing with the Senators. 

After one season in Ottawa, he was shipped to the Sabres in what proved to be the final season of his career. Legwand scored just 18 goals outside of his time spent with the Predators, as his name will always be synonymous with Nashville hockey. 

Stats courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com.