Carolina Hurricanes winger Justin Williams, who spent two seasons with the Washington Capitals, is stepping away from hockey for now but is not yet retiring from the NHL, the Hurricanes announced.
It is not clear how long Williams, 37, will be away, but the door is left open for him to return when he’s ready.
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve felt unsure of my aspirations with regards to hockey,” Williams said in a statement released by the team. “For as long as I can remember, my whole off-season until this point has been hockey and doing what was necessary to prepare for the upcoming season. Because of my current indecision, and without the type of mental and physical commitment that I’m accustomed to having, I’ve decided to step away from the game.
“It’s important to me that the focus of attention is on the current, very talented group the Carolina Hurricanes have assembled, as they prepare to build on the momentum and growth we established last season.”
Williams, an unrestricted free agent as of now, scored 46 regular-season goals and six playoff goals across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with Washington. He then rejoined Carolina, for whom he played earlier in his career, and as a team captain led the Hurricanes to the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs — including a first-round upset of the defending champion Capitals.
Nicknamed “Mr. Game 7,” Williams holds the NHL record with 15 career points in Game 7 situations, and his teams are 8-1 in those games.
Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell implied the team was aware of Williams’ uncertainty over the summer.
“We appreciate Justin’s honesty and openness throughout this process, and respect his decision,” Waddell said in a statement. “He’s been an important part of our team, but we did prepare our roster with the understanding that he might step away. We are confident in the group we’ve assembled.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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