Niklas Hjalmarsson decided to end his football career at the age of 35.
After a year break, he returned to save HV71 in the SHL, but suffered a concussion.
– It took a while. Last week was the first time I felt completely 100 percent. I became thoughtful and a little scared when it went on for so long, he tells the HV71 website.
On 24 November away against Skellefteå, Niklas Hjalmarsson made his return.
It was 17 matches for the defender before a concussion away to Örebro on January 21 marked the end of his playing career.
HV71 finally finished 11th in the SHL and managed to survive without having to play the playoffs.
– I hope the audience understands the huge role they played in our survival. We came to the morning warm-up and were told that game after game was sold out, although we didn’t deserve it, the crowd came and created an atmosphere of hell in the hall, says Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Interested in a coaching job
Over the summer, he had returned to Jönköping from Phoenix with his two sons.
Niklas Hjalmarsson from Nässjö played three seasons of the Elite Series at HV71 before moving to the United States.
– I’ll see if I come back for another role in the future. I love hockey, that’s what I did and that’s what I can do. Some type of trainer would be a bit exciting to try, says Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Three Stanley Cup titles
With his three Stanley Cup titles for the Chicago Blackhawks, he is one of the greatest Swedish hockey players of all time.
Niklas Lidström, Tomas Holmström, Anders Kallor and Stefan Persson are the Swedes with four Stanley Cup titles and no one else has had three Stanley Cup titles.
It’s also clear from the above that Eric Martinson, Taylor Mattson, Andy Mealy, Tyler Wiesel, Chad Billins, and Kali Malahti are leaving HV71.
New to the team are strikers Isac Brännström from Luleå and Åke Stakkestad from Bik Karlskoga as well as head coach Tomas Montén from Linköping.
