It's the end of the line for Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz. After not playing a game since April of 2023, Francouz announced his retirement in his home country of Czechia.
Francouz, 33, stressed he will not be playing in Europe and that his retirement means he is done playing the sport of hockey professionally.
Francouz won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, and contributed in the playoffs in a big way after fellow netminder Darcy Kuemper went down with an injury in the first round. Francouz brought the Avalanche all the way to the Stanley Cup final before Kuemper resumed his role as the starter.
Over the past few seasons, Francouz has had double-knee surgery, and has dealt with ankle and groin injuries, which ultimately led to his decision to retire from hockey. It was announced back in November that he would not play during the 2023-24 season, leading to speculation that his career might be over. His current two-year deal with Colorado ends at the end of this season. It was worth $2 million per year.
Source: Hokej.cz
Official: End of speculation! The Frenchman is saying goodbye to hockey at the age of 33
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 19 | 55 ANSWERS Injuries force Pavel Francouz to retire Are you surprised that injuries have forced Pavel Francouz to retire? | ||
| Yes | 18 | 32.7 % |
| No | 19 | 34.5 % |
| Not sure | 18 | 32.7 % |
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YESTERDAY
MAY 29, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexander Nikishin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
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