Breaking: Predators captain Mike Fisher officially announces retirement

Nashville Predators captain Mike Fisher is calling it quits. Just months after falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, Fisher has made the decision to officially retire from the NHL.

"Everyone wants to win in this game, no one probably more than me," Fisher said back in June after the 6 game series against the Penguins. "But there's other things. At the end of the day, this is a game. It's an important part of my life, but it's not everything."

Since then then the 7th captain in team history has faced a barrage of ‘will he or won’t he’ speculation, which can officially be put to rest with today’s news. Meanwhile, the Predators have positioned themselves nicely to absorb the loss of Fisher from their lineup. The free-agent acquisition of former Penguins center Nick Bonino should fill the gap left by Fisher and youngsters Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok look more than capable of playing a top-six role at center if needed.

Fisher leaves the game a two-time Stanley Cup Finalist and one of the best defensive forwards of his generation. The native of Peterborough, Ontario scored 276 goals and 585 points in 1088 career games split between the Predators and the Ottawa Senators.