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I have great memories of my years in Edmonton and the players who were my teammates.

I am a huge hockey fan.

I really did love hockey. It was one of my favorite things to do.

It is so important to me to have my time away from hockey. Obviously, hockey is my passion; I love it. But definitely for me, time away from the rink and time when my mind isn't thinking about hockey is important.

Through the years, I have so many wonderful memories of playing with the Red Wings: winning four Stanley Cups, scoring big goals, going into battle every night side by side with my teammates, playing with every ounce of effort I could muster.

I love hockey because of the respect for history and for the game itself.

I still love hockey. It's just I'm at a different stage of my life and I think I'm just ready to grow in other ways outside of just being a hockey player.

But inside of me I knew that the Olympics were still there. I was still young enough. I knew that once I transitioned out of hockey, it would be really hard to go back.