In a sense, the fact that Fleury plans to play at least a period of Saturday night\u2019s home exhibition against the Columbus Blue Jackets is unprecedented. According to his agent, Allan Walsh, it is believed no other NHL player has ever actually appeared in a preseason game after signing a ceremonial retirement deal.<\/p>\n
In another, the netminder is merely following in a tradition that has spread to all classes of the league, from legends like Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators, 2014), Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins, 2022) and Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings, 2022), to relative journeymen such as Owen Nolan (San Jose Sharks, 2012), Erik Cole (Carolina Hurricanes, 2017), Olli Jokinen (Florida Panthers, 2017) and Wayne Simmonds (Philadelphia Flyers, 2024).<\/p>\n
Modano, for his part, remembered the call in summer 2011 that he received from then-Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk, a former teammate, offering a ceremonial retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame guy who didn\u2019t sign me the year before,\u201d Modano said, laughing while referring to his final NHL season with the Red Wings. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t there too long; he didn\u2019t sign me and brought me back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flanked by his parents, former teammates such as Brett Hull, and friends from the Dallas area, Modano soon entered a conference room at Hotel Crescent Court near what was then American Airlines Center in Sept. 2011. It was set up for a \u201cfull-blown press conference,\u201d he said, capped off by Modano signing a one-day contract. The dollar figure on the paper: $999,999.99 \u2014 an honorary amount that paid tribute to his No. 9, which the Stars retired three years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a few hundred people there, and you can\u2019t really prepare for that scenario,\u201d Modano recalled. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to get through than any interview I did after a game, even in the Stanley Cup (Final), when you kind of make a couple of comments, answer a couple of questions, blah, blah \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was kind of a collection of thoughts about something I\u2019d been doing since I was 7. You\u2019re talking 35 years. I felt like I had to honor all of the people, and it was tough ground to cover. You really get at a loss for words, but I think that\u2019s what makes those kinds of things special for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bryan Bickell had already cemented his status as a sporting hero in Chicago when he signed a one-day contract to retire with the Blackhawks in Oct. 2017. He scored nine goals during the 2012-13 playoffs, none more important than a tying tally seconds before Dave Bolland\u2019s Cup-winning goal in the final minute in Game 6 in Boston.<\/p>\n
Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes after the 2015-16 season, Bickell went on to play in only 11 more NHL games. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November 2016 and retired the following summer. Chicago then brought him home, so to speak, for what the team dubbed \u201cOne More Shift.\u201d After putting his name to ceremonial paper, Bickell borrowed some gear from the equipment staff and pulled on the Blackhawks jersey one final time, taking a lap around their United Center as teammates stood along the blue line before their season opener.<\/p>\n
As with other one-day contract signees such as Barrett Jackman (St. Louis Blues, 2016), Alex Edler (Vancouver Canucks, 2022) and Bryan Little (Winnipeg Jets, 2024), Bickell had spent the vast majority of his career under contract with one team before moving elsewhere near the end. Drafted by Chicago in the second round in 2004, he relished the \u201cspecial\u201d chance to return.<\/p>\n
\u201cI signed my contract, did my little thing on the ice,\u201d Bickell said. \u201cIt was a victory lap.\u201d<\/p>\n
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