NHL veteran has made his final decision on retirement.

The decision to retire from the game of hockey is never an easy one, however in this particular case one gets the sense that the time in undoubtedly right.

Veteran Los Angeles Kings' forward Vincent Lecavalier met with Los Angeles local media on Sunday and confirmed he's still planning to retire, according to Kings beat reporter Jon Rosen.
Lecavalier's 17th NHL season came to an end when the Los Angeles Kings were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of their first-round series Friday night.

The 36-year-old center said Sunday that he plans to return to Tampa Bay at some point in time. He played for the Lightning from his rookie season in 1998 to 2013, wearing the "C" for his final five seasons with the club.

Lecavalier's agent, Kent Hughes, told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun in January that his client planned to retire at season's end following the trade that sent him to the Kings from the Philadelphia Flyers. Lecavalier signed his five-year, $22.5-million contract back in 2013 after being bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but after a nice first season with the Flyers - in which he scored 20 goals in 69 games - Lecavalier was left scratched on numerous occasions, and appeared in only seven games this season under new Flyers' head coach Dave Hakstol.

He recorded 383 goals and 874 points in 1,037 career games, collecting another 56 points in 75 playoff contests.

Lecavalier won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2007, and was named to the All-Star Game four times.

[pub]