Long-term Frölunda Gothenburg captain and one of the most prominent players on the pan-European stage of the Champions Hockey League Joel Lundqvist has announced he will retire from professional ice hockey at the end of the season when his contract with Frölunda runs out.
Four-time CHL Champion Lundqvist features on the CHL's all-time leaderboard as the player with the most starts in the competition (88), including 11 starts this season, and is second in goals, assists and total points scored behind fellow CHL legend and teammate Ryan Lasch.
The famous Swedish player made his debut in Frölunda's first team all the way back in October 2000 and has set all possible club records, including most games played, most points scored, most goals scored, most assists scored and most combined penalty minutes, during his 20 years with the team.
Alongside his four CHL winners medals, the Swede, who also played in the NHL for the Dallas Stars between 2006-2009, has four SHL titles (2003, 2005, 2016, 2019) and three IIHF World Championship gold medals (2006, 2013, 2017) in his trophy cabinet which is also packed full of personal accolades.
We spoke to Lundqvist a month ago following his side's elimination from the 2022/23 season. You can read the full interview here.