PRAGUE - Veteran goaltender Dominik Hasek appears to be done with ice hockey after giving up hope of returning to the NHL once again.
The 47-year-old goalie resumed training ahead of this season hoping to get picked up by an NHL club, but told Czech daily Sport on Tuesday that it is "very unlikely" he would play again after no team offered him a contract amid the current lockout.
"It's very sad," Hasek told Sport. "But there is nothing you can do. I realized that it's time to retire."
Known as the "Dominator," he was twice named the NHL's most valuable player, and took home the Vezina Trophy six times.
Hasek announced his retirement in 2002 after winning his first Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings, but came back and then retired from the NHL again in 2008.
At 45, however, he led his hometown club Pardubice to the Czech league title and then played a season for Spartak Moscow in the KHL.
