Radim Vrbata

One minute was left on the clock. We were up by one and Buffalo had just pulled its goalie. What a perfect moment for the coach to call my name. He had sent me on the ice to enjoy my last moments. 

That’s how it goes. The player for whom the game is somehow special gets a chance to play the last shift and maybe get a chance for a shot into an empty net. For me, that night really was special. 

It was my last game in the NHL. 

I jumped over the boards just as I had done a thousand times before. I tried not to do anything rash, but the flow of the game found me. The opponent had just taken a shot, our D-man had blocked it and the flying puck came right to me by the left side of the ice. The Buffalo defenseman standing in my way tried to hold the blue line but I was thinking to myself that I might as well just chip it past him and go for the empty net. 

Man, what a way to end my career. When I had just started my NHL career in Colorado, playing wing alongside Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk, I had two assists in my first start. Now to end it in the same fashion. The last line change, last touch of the puck, and a goal.