Last March, legendary goaltender Dominik Hasek said he wanted to play one more year in the KHL after spending the 2010-11 season with Moscow Spartak.
No offers came his way over the summer or this past fall, but the 47-year old six-time Vezina Trophy and two-time Hart Trophy winner wasn't ready to hang up his skates for good just yet.
Speaking on Thursday during a charity skiing event in the Czech Republic, Hasek gave a deadline for when he felt it would finally be time to retire from hockey for good.
From Sportovni:
"If I do not receive an adequate contract offer by May or June, it would mean that there is a 99-percent chance that my career will be over. I have an idea of what the contract should look like, and if it does not work out, then I plan on ending my career. I don't want to, but it's something I have to count on. That's how it is."
Despite the year off from hockey and his age, Hasek still keeps in adequate shape by biking, skiing and playing soccer (what, no roller hockey?). Conditioning was never a question for legendary goaltender during his 16-season NHL career. He said he keeps active waiting for the day he receives an offer so that he can go back to training full-time and quickly get back into hockey shape.
Last season with Spartak Hasek was 29-13-3 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .915 save-percentage.
With the European leagues winding down and in the middle of their playoffs, it's tough to gauge any interest in Hasek for next season at the moment; but as he's said in the past, he'd only consider an offer if he felt he'd be a serviceable member of the team and not used as a promotional tool.
Stick-taps Vicky G. and Patrik for the translation help
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy