Brian Rafalski announces retirement after 11 NHL seasons

[plopster 136]

anybody know if the press conference will be on tv

[syntax 359]

anybody know if the press conference will be on tv

Supposed to be HERE, but still has not started, I guess.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Still wondering if he takes an executive position or something along those lines.

[Din758 371]

Supposed to be HERE, but still has not started, I guess.

fashionably late. raffi is goin out in style.

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

Supposed to be HERE, but still has not started, I guess.

Late to his retirement?

[hooon 1,089]

Hurry up Raf, I have to leave in 20 minutes!

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

here we go. its on now

[P. Marlowe 748]

It's on. Has everyone got their tissues?

Edited May 25, 2011 by P. Marlowe

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

wow such a great guy. Never really heard him speak like this. classy classy guy. very sad.

[P. Marlowe 748]

He's thanked and mentioned Nicklas Lidström at least five times.

[grwingfan 21]

You can tell this decision is killing him.

[Esquire 324]

This sucks. Big time.

[hockeytown9 1]

wow such a great guy. Never really heard him speak like this. classy classy guy. very sad.

Couldn't agree more.

[ogreslayer 1,069]

Rafi will certainly be missed, to say the least. The more & more I look at the crop of available UFAs on D this year, the more I think that the big splash Kenny will make to replace Rafi will come via trade & any UFA signings will be of the Salei variety to fill out the #5-7 spots. I just think at this point, the Wings will be priced out of the bigger names available and it's not Kenny's style to go after RFAs. Just my $0.02.

[plopster 136]

Godspeed Brian. You will be missed.

[P. Marlowe 748]

And that's it. Damn...

[hooon 1,089]

great presser.

Thanks Raf for your years of service to our beloved team! Sorry I was a bit rough on you at times, but you had a great career and will certainly be missed.

[syntax 359]

Good press conference. We're going to miss Raf a lot, myself included.

I hope we see him around from time-to-time.

[KrazyGangsta 79]

Sad ...

[plopster 136]

He must have been hanging on by a thread this year. Must be tough as an athlete to know you can't physically do what your mind wants to, or what it did at one time.

[Travis 576]

I tuned in late, but I really expected to see him and Kenny talk about his 'hockey future' per the press release. Guess I read too much into it.

[JoeBuddy 10]

His puck moving capabilities will be missed by me. His defense however, I can live without. It'll be interesting to see what Kenny does this off season now.

Off topic- Does anyone else hate Katrina from channel 4 as much as me? When she asked her question, I wanted to throw something at my computer.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Yeah, this just hammered it home just a little bit more about what an amazing guy and player we are losing. I just really hope we can keep an individual such as him around for many many years to mentor players like Smith (though Lids is pretty good for that too). We will always welcome #28 back with open arms and stand applaud his amazing contributions to this team. Love ya Raf!

[Din758 371]

how about that awful teleprompter joke, and then the lack of crowd support from the media. curse them for not giving him love. looked like it kind of rattled him too.

[gcom007 1,465]

They don't come classier than Rafalski. That was an incredibly gracious announcement, refreshing to hear from a professional athlete. It's a bit sad to see him go, but I'm going to take his advice and be happy for him. He really loves his family and now he'll have a lot more time for them. He had a great career, and I'm glad he was able to play for the Wings and help us win a Cup.

Edited May 25, 2011 by gcom007