The Dallas Stars have confirmed today that the forward will retire from the National Hockey League after 18 seasons.
Joe Pavelski , 40, scored 1,068 points (476-592—1,068) in 1,332 regular-season games across five seasons with the Dallas Stars and 13 with the San Jose Sharks. Pavelski joined Dallas as a free agent on July 1, 2019. He featured in 369 regular-season games for the club, scoring 307 points (121-186—307). During that time, he led Stars skaters in assists (186) while ranking second in points (121-186-307) and third in goals (121). From 2020 to 2022, he led all Stars skaters in scoring, including a career-high 81 points (27-54—81) in 2021-22 at the age of 37.
Pavelski was named Central Division captain for the 2022 All-Star Weekend, marking his fourth NHL All-Star trip and first with the Stars.
“The standard of excellence that Joe brought to the rink each day has had a long-term impact on our organization,” said Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill. “Joe’s leadership in the locker room, practice habits, mentoring of new players, and desire to develop his game have all contributed to our team’s success over the last five seasons. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated that he is one of the best to ever play the game, and his long CV speaks for itself.
We want to congratulate him on his incredible career and look forward to what the future holds for Joe, Sarah, and Nate.”
Pavelski competed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four of his five seasons with the Stars, reaching the Western Conference Final three times (2020, 2023, and 2024) and the Stanley Cup Final once (2020). In 67 postseason games with Dallas, he scored 43 points (26-17).
During his 963 games with the Sharks, he scored 761 points (355-406—761). He is second in Sharks team history in goals (355), third in points (355-406, 761) and fourth in assists (406). He is also second in power-play goals (121), game-winning goals (60), plus/minus rating (+108), and third in power-play points (278).
From 2008 to 2019, he scored 20 or more goals in ten of eleven seasons, missing the mark only in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season (16 goals in 48 games), including a career-high 41 in 2013-14.
San Jose made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 12 of Pavelski’s 13 seasons with the team, with four trips to the Western Conference Final (2010, 2011, 2016, 2019) and one to the Stanley Cup Final (2016). Pavelski is second in goals (48), third in assists (52) and fourth in points (48-52-100) in Sharks postseason history. He is also second in power-play goals (22) and game-winning goals (12), as well as second in power-play points (22-20-42) in 134 postseason games with San Jose.
Pavelski was the Sharks’ captain for his final four seasons from 2015 to 2019 and represented the team in three NHL All-Star Games (2016, 2017, and 2019).
Pavelski concludes his career ranked fifth among American-born players in goals (476) and points (476-592—1,068), and eleventh in assists (592). He also ranks third in power-play goals (176), tied for fifth in game-winning goals (75), and seventh in plus-minus rating (+201). Pavelski scored 25 or more goals in 12 of his 18 seasons, ranking third among U.S.-born players. In playoff play, he leads all U.S.-born players in goals (74), power-play goals (30), and game-winning goals (18), while ranking third in points (74-69—143) and seventh in assists (69). He played in his 200th career postseason game against Edmonton in Game 5 of the 2024 Western Conference Final, becoming only the second player born in the United States to do so.
On the international scene, he represented the United States in two Olympic games (2010, 2014) and helped Team USA win the silver medal in 2010. He also competed in the 2009 IIHF World Championship and served as Team USA captain for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
San Jose chose the 6-foot-1, 196-pound forward in the seventh round (205th overall) at the 2003 NHL Draft.
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