Tonight, for the first time in 22 years, the National Hockey League will raise its curtain without Paul Coffey.
"It's going to be great to spend my first Thanksgiving weekend with my wife and family up at the cottage [in Muskoka]" he said over breakfast yesterday.
Coffey, who turned 40 on June 1, will officially announce his retirement this morning. One of the most decorated defencemen in NHL history has no regrets about his decision.
"I'm at peace with myself," the future Hockey Hall of Famer said. "I did what I wanted to do -- play in the NHL for 21 seasons.
"Priorities change. As a professional athlete, your life has to be dominated by hockey, giving an effort north of 100 per cent. My family is where my life is at right now."
Let the record show that Paul Douglas Coffey departs as a four-time Stanley Cup champion, three-time Canada Cup winner and three-time Norris Trophy winner. With 1,531 career points, Coffey is second in career scoring by a defenceman, behind Raymond Bourque, and the leading career playoff scorer among blueliners, with 196 points in 194 games.
Coffey's final game was as a member of the Boston Bruins on Dec. 4 in Atlanta. He played 20 minutes 54 seconds in a 5-4 loss to the Thrashers.
One of the game's great skaters, Coffey listened to, but declined, two offers to return last season.
"For me, the glass was full," Coffey said. "I had accomplished everything I wanted to do. I knew when I was finished in Boston, that it was pretty much it.
"Bryan Berard is back playing because he is young and still has a huge void to fill. For me, that void was exhausted.
"Plus, being happy at home and very content makes the transition easy."
Coffey and his wife Stephanie, both of whom were raised in Toronto, will settle in Toronto and raise their two children, Savannah, 6, and Blake, 3. Coffey's parents live in nearby Mississauga.
"When you play hockey you have tunnel vision," Coffey said. "You are so wrapped up in the competition, living and dying with each win and loss. That's the way it has to be.
"Without that competition, everyday is a great day. Everyday is a win."
Coffey has no immediate plans to start a new career. Instead, he will listen to the advice of Hockey Hall of Fame member Marcel Dionne, who told Coffey "do not try to create a job."
Coffey's hockey job began with the Edmonton Oilers in 1980-81. He went on to capture three Stanley Cups with Wayne Gretzky and the boys.
An early highlight was his first Canada Cup in 1984 when he broke up a Soviet Union two-on-one in overtime, then went down the ice to set up Mike Bossy's overtime winner to advance to the final.
He shifted to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987.
In 1991, he picked up a fourth Stanley Cup with the Penguins and Mario Lemieux.
"All my teammates are memorable from Wayne to Mark Messier to Jari Kurri to Kevin Lowe to Charlie Huddy to a young Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh who wanted to take the city of Pittsburgh to the top," Coffey said.
"He was so determined. Throughout his career, Wayne made the players around him better, but Mario dominated and did everything himself [in 1990-91]"
In his nine stops in the NHL, Coffey's passion for the game was dominated by dressing-room camaraderie. He would often arrive at the rink four hours before a game to shoot the breeze with the trainers, and so many young players benefited from Coffey's advice.
He was always willing to share a secret or two with young teammates such as Rob Blake in Los Angeles or David Tanabe with the Carolina Hurricanes.
"I developed in an organization in Edmonton where helping young players out was what you did," he said. "Lee Fogolin did it for me as did Larry Robinson when we played in a Canada Cup together.
"The things I'm most proud of are the championships, and my memories will always revolve around playing with so many great players, making a lot of friends, meeting a great lady and having a good family."