Former NHL star wins KHL championship

As if Detroit Red Wings fans needed another punch in the gut…former Wings superstar Pavel Datsyuk, who opted out of the final year of his NHL contract, is a champion once again. 

Datsyuk led his squad, SKA Saint Petersburg, to a KHL championship earlier this week to claim the league’s Gagarin Cup with a victory over Mettalurg Magnitogorsk. Joining Datsyuk on the star-studded championship team are fellow former-NHLers Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Voynov.

For all their troubles this season, the Red Wings could have certainly used Datsyuk’s offense this season. The 38-year old Russian had 12 goals and 34 points in 44 games during his first regular season back in his home country. In the playoffs, Datsyuk added 3 goals and 5 points in 7 games. He’s an all-time Red Wings legend to be sure, but don’t fault Wings fans for feeling a little bit salty with the circumstances surrounding his NHL retirement.