Pavel Datsyuk

The boy "with the twitchy walk" caught the eye of Krikunov, but not on the ice. Instead, Datsyuk excelled on the soccer field, where his anticipation, vision and intelligence were more apparent. Under Krikunov, Datsyuk evolved into a particularly efficient two-way player, and he began to draw wider attention among Russian hockey fans. Despite his early successes, however, he went undrafted in the 1996 and 1997 NHL drafts.

The departure of Sergei Fedorov in the 2003 off-season made room for Datsyuk to rise to prominence on the Red Wings. He took full advantage of his elevated ice time, where his playmaking skills earned him a spot in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game. In the 2004 playoffs, he had no goals and six assists through 12 games before Detroit was eliminated in the second round by the Calgary Flames.

At the age of 18, Datsyuk met his future wife Svetlana in Sverdlovsk. They married three years later, and had a daughter named Elizabeth in 2004. They divorced in 2010. Datsyuk got married for a second time in 2012; his new wife is named Maria. On 23 April 2014, she gave birth to his second child, a daughter named Vasilisa. His third child, a son named Pavel Jr., was born in February 2017.

Datsyuk became a restricted free agent during the 2004–05 off-season but could not reach a deal with the Red Wings despite repeated statements by his agent, Gary Greenstin, indicating his desire to stay in Detroit. He chose not to take the salary dispute to arbitration, and instead played with Dynamo Moscow during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. On 4 September 2005, Datsyuk then signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Superleague (RSL), where Dynamo Moscow matched the offer two days later, retaining the player.

On 19 September 2005, the day the arbitration committee of the RSL was set to determine which club had Datsyuk's rights, Datsyuk agreed to a two-year deal with the Red Wings for a total of US$7.8 million.

During the 2006–07 season, Datsyuk debuted Reebok's new hockey stick, with holes bored into the shaft to make it more aerodynamic, dubbed the 9KO. He completed the season matching his previous campaign's total of 87 points. Prior to the beginning of the playoffs, on 6 April 2007, Datsyuk signed a seven-year, US$46.9 million contract extension with the Red Wings. He then helped Detroit advance to the Western Conference Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks, contributing 16 points in 18 games.

In 2007–08, Datsyuk was voted by NHL fans, along with teammates Nicklas Lidström and Henrik Zetterberg, to start for the Western Conference in the 2008 All-Star Game at Philips Arena in Atlanta. He went on to have a career year, scoring a team-high 97 points in 82 games while also leading all Red Wings forwards in blocked shots. In leading the team in scoring, he joined Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman as the only players in franchise history to do so in three consecutive seasons. Entering into the playoffs, Datsyuk scored his first career NHL hat-trick on 12 May 2008, in a 5–2 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, en route to a meeting in the Finals with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Game 6 of the series, Datsyuk recorded two assists in a 3–2 win to clinch the team's 11th Stanley Cup title and its fourth in 11 years.

Datsyuk was selected to his third NHL All-Star Game in 2009, but due to a hip injury, he did not participate. However, as per a newly formed League policy stating players must demonstrate injury by missing at least one game prior to the All-Star Game, Datsyuk was suspended one game, along with teammate Nicklas Lidström, for not attending.

Datsyuk achieved a Gordie Howe hat trick on the opening night of the 2010–11 season against the Anaheim Ducks with a goal, an assist and a fight, which came against Corey Perry. Datsyuk was yet again impressive in the 2011 playoffs, leading his team with 15 points in 11 games. As the Red Wings fell behind 3–0 to the San Jose Sharks in the second round (which also happened the previous year), Datsyuk almost led his team back from the deficit to win the series; a Game 5-winning assist to Tomas Holmström's goal, a Game 6-winning assist to Valtteri Filppula's goal and a Game 7 late backhand goal highlighted Datsyuk's heroics in an eventual losing effort.

During the entirety of the 2011 pre-season, Datsyuk wore jersey number 24 as a tribute to former teammate Ruslan Salei, who perished on 7 September 2011, in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, along with 43 others. Datsyuk was an early-season candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the League MVP, until a knee injury in February forced the Red Wings into a slump. The team dropped from first place in February to fifth at the end of the season, where they drew the Nashville Predators in the first round, losing the series four games to one. Datsyuk finished the season with 67 points in 70 games for the regular season, and was also named to the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa.

When play resumed in January 2013, Datsyuk returned to the Red Wings and managed to score 49 points in 47 games. Detroit would make it to the second round of the 2013 playoffs before being defeated by the eventual champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in seven games via an overtime goal by Brent Seabrook. The Red Wings lost the series despite being ahead at one point three games to one. Later in the 2013 off-season, Datsyuk signed a three-year extension to stay with Detroit.

On 14 February 2016, Datsyuk became the sixth Red Wing player to reach the 900 point milestone, and the fifth Russian player to do so. Datsyuk was named the First Star of the Week for the week ending 15 February 2016. He shared the league lead with five goals and tied for second overall with seven points in four games to help lead the Red Wings to seven out of a possible eight standings points.

On 18 June 2016, Datsyuk announced that he was leaving Detroit to play in Russia, ending his 14-year career with the Red Wings. He left the Wings having won two Stanley Cups (2002 and 2008), four consecutive Lady Byng trophies (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009), 953 games played, and 918 points. He was the last remaining member of the Wings' 2002 Stanley Cup Championship team.

On 24 June 2016, the Red Wings traded Datsyuk's contract to the Arizona Coyotes along with the 16th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for the 20th overall pick, the 53rd overall pick, and Joe Vitale in order for the Red Wings to clear salary cap space.

On 8 July 2016, Datsyuk signed a two-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. During the 2016–17 season, Datsyuk recorded 12 goals and 22 assists in 44 regular season games, and helped lead SKA Saint Petersburg to the Gagarin Cup in his first season back in the KHL. During the 2017–18 season, Datsyuk recorded eight goals and 27 assists in 37 regular season games. On 17 April 2018, Datsyuk signed a one-year contract extension with SKA Saint Petersburg.

Following completion of the 2018–19 season, his third with SKA, Datsyuk left the club as a free agent following the conclusion of his contract. On 5 June 2019, despite light speculation of a possible reunion with the Red Wings, Datsyuk opted to continue in the KHL, returning to play in his hometown with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on a one-year contract. On 10 July 2020, Datsyuk re-signed with Avtomobilist on a one-year contract.

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Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk turned 37 on July 20 and with it being a relatively quite part of the NHL calendar, it's cause for some extra celebration. Here are 13 memorable moments from No. 13.

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EKATERINBURG, RUSSIA – Pavel Datsyuk may be one of the NHL’s premier skating talents, but here at the PD13 hockey school there’s also a place for goalies.