Swedish star Zetterberg retires after 15 seasons

Swedish star Henrik Zetterberg, who was named MVP of the 2008 Stanley Cup finals, announced his retirement on Friday after 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).Zetterberg ends his brilliant career with a total of 337 goals and 623 assists, all coming while a member of the Detroit Red Wings. The 37-year-old Zetterberg is also one of the most decorated international players for Sweden, having won a gold medal at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. He is one of just 28 players to be part of the “Triple Gold Club,” having won a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and world title in their careers. He led the Wings to a NHL championship in the 2007-08 season.Zetterberg decided to hang up his skates after missing a good portion of last season with back problems. He had hoped his health would improve over the summer but when he met with team doctors last week he was told, “nothing really had changed.”“He’s got a degenerative condition in his back,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “Part of the degenerative condition is significant arthritis. Nothing can be done. No back surgery. No rehab. No more time off is going to have any positive impact.“Obviously if he plays professional hockey, it’s going to accelerate the degeneration, and if he does get a bad hit or something, then he’s risking a significant back surgery.“Henrik has decided that his quality of life is more important than taking the risk of back surgery.”A native of Njurunda, Zetterberg was another of Holland’s diamond in the rough finds in the late rounds of the NHL entry draft, taken in 1999 with the 210th overall pick. Zetterberg made the leap to the NHL from the Swedish Elite League in 2002 as a 22-year-old rookie, posting 22 goals and 22 assists.From 2005 to 2008, Zetterberg notched four straight 30-plus goal campaigns, highlighted by a career high 43 goals in 2007-08 championship season.Pageau likely out for seasonThe Ottawa Senators are already hurting after the first day of training camp. The Sens appear to have lost Jean-Gabriel Pageau for the season after the veteran centre suffered a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg during physical testing Thursday.Surgery was performed Thursday night, and he is expected to be out for at least six months, the team announced. Pageau, 25, collected 14 goals and 29 points in 78 games during the 2017-18 season, his sixth with the Senators after they picked him in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft.Pageau is in the second year of a three-year deal worth $9.3 million.Among the candidates most likely to fill in during Pageau’s absence are Zack Smith, Chris Tierney and Logan Smith. Tierney was obtained by the Senators on Thursday in a huge deal with the San Jose Sharks.The Senators traded Erik Karlsson and Francis Perron to San Jose and also got Rudolfs Balcers, Dylan DeMelo, Josh Norris, a 2019 second-round pick, a 2020 first-rounder and a pair of conditional picks from the Sharks.Tierney collected 104 points (41 goals, 63 assists) over 284 games in four NHL seasons, all with the Sharks. His 40-point total last season was a career high.