LeBrun: Why Paul Stastny has decided to call it a career and what comes next

Paul Stastny knew people were going to figure it out eventually.

But he didn’t see the point in making a big deal of it.

And so when I reached out this week to see how he was doing, curious whether he was talking to teams about one last run, I got a completely different answer.

“I haven’t filed anything, but in early September we decided we were done,” Stastny said.

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After putting up 822 points in 1,145 career regular-season games over 17 NHL seasons, the 37-year-old forward has called it quits.

Without much fanfare.

“I didn’t put anything out on social media or anything,” Stastny said with a chuckle. “I kind of came into the league quietly and I’m leaving the league quietly. That’s the way I like it.

“All the people close to me know, and then word always gets out eventually.”

Well, we all know now.

Stastny said he had some calls from teams this summer but wanted to wait and see how he felt.

“I wanted to take all the emotions out of it,” he said. “The summer got further along, and I got on the ice a few times … I wouldn’t say the spark wasn’t there — I still love the game — but I think I was just ready to move forward to the next chapter.

“When you know, you know.”

Stastny and his wife and two kids, aged 8 and 6, are currently at their home in Summerlin, Nevada, a place they kept from their time in Vegas, but the plan is to eventually move back to St. Louis.

He’s very much at peace with his decision.

“(Patrice) Bergeron said something like this: ‘It’s not about being on the ice. That’s the easy part. It’s all the parts that come with preparing, cooling off, being away from the family,'” Stastny said. “There’s so many different factors.

“I’ve been playing for 17 years. It’s been a long time, I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. Now I love being at home and love being with the kids. Just love being able to do other things now. I’m very much at peace with it, that’s for sure.”

Stastny turns 38 in December — the same age as his Hockey Hall of Fame father, the great Peter Stastny, when he retired from the NHL in 1995 after a remarkable career.

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Paul leaned on his dad before making his decision.

“What’s funny is that if I lean one way, he’ll play devil’s advocate just to make sure I see both sides,” Paul said. “But he’s always like, ‘Whatever you decide, you decide.’

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“I was leaning one way and he was like, ‘No, you’ve got to do this and do this.’ Then he called me a week later and said, ‘You know what? You’re right. I listened to everything you said. I thought it over. You’re definitely right about the way you’re thinking.’ I said, ‘Dad, we think alike. We will just never admit to each other we think alike.'”

Peter has simply always wanted Paul to take his time with his career decisions when changing teams and signing contracts. Sage advice to be sure.

“He’s always about ‘take the emotion out of it,’ ‘let things settle,’ ‘have a clear head,’ right?” Paul said. “We’re both pretty even-keel when it comes to decisions like that.

“For both of us, a big thing was leaving on your own terms.”

Spending time with his family is top of mind for the foreseeable future, but working in hockey could be of interest eventually.

“I don’t want to do coaching, that’s for sure,” Stastny laughed. “Maybe something with management.

“If the right opportunity comes up with the right people and the right fit or situation, then I would for sure be interested. But you know me, you know my dad — I don’t want to be a yes man to anyone. If I’m going to do something, I’m in 100 percent. I’m not going to take some job just to be around the guys.

“But for now, no. Not yet.”

Perhaps once they move back to St. Louis next year, at some point it’s something he will be ready to look at, depending on the opportunities that may or may not surface.

It is no surprise that a job in NHL management might interest him one day. Similar to how player-turned-Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere always gave the impression that he was fascinated by the machinations of the business, Stastny was a player who was aware of the inner workings of the industry and asked a lot of questions.

Which is no surprise, of course, if you know his dad.

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“We call that the politics of the game, right?” laughed Stastny, when referring to his father’s passion for the game but also the game behind the game. “Honestly the last couple of years it was fun helping out the younger guys because no one understands this part. It took me like until three years ago to realize, ‘Everything my dad said is right to this day.’ Maybe because he’s been around the game so long. But you learn a lot and you see a lot being around the game this long.”

As for Stastny’s favorite NHL stops or memories, it was hard for him to single out just one.

“They were all different chapters in my life, and I loved them all,” he said. “The Colorado days, I was a kid, I played with some great veterans, and some of my best friends I played with there. St. Louis was like the closest group of guys. For some reason, all those guys in St. Louis are me and my wife’s closest friends. We were all in the same chapter of our lives at the time, where everyone just got married. And then Winnipeg rejuvenated my career. That’s the best thing that ever happened to me was probably going to Winnipeg. I’m forever grateful for that. Las Vegas was a blast. Playing with different players, having different coaches, you get to see everything.

“For me, it’s all about learning, and I learned a lot. Even Carolina, we enjoyed it. We knew it could be our last year so let’s have fun with it no matter what. We picked a great team, a great group of guys.

“Being in this game for so long, it’s all about the people you meet.”

Stastny says he’s grateful for the career he had.

“I have no complaints about anything,” he said. “I’ve been the luckiest guy in the world, and I’m thankful for that.”

(Top photo of Paul Stastny: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)