Blood clots force forward into retirement

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis has been forced into retirement due to a medical condition related to blood clots.

The 36-year-old was diagnosed with blood clots after sustaining torn ligaments in his knee in January 2014.

Dupuis was taking blood thinners after returning to action in June of this year but after complaining of pain in his chest against the San Jose Sharks, the thought of retirement popped into his mind.

He was cleared to return and played on back-to-back nights against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks last weekend but Dupuis and the Penguins announced on Tuesday he would not play professional ice hockey again.

"We've been talking about it for a little while on this road trip, since the San Jose game. It made it more clear in my head that it was weighing on me, my wife, kids, my team-mates," Dupuis told the Penguins website.

"One hundred percent, it was definitely all about [my family]. If all this was on me or if I'd taken a selfish approach to this, I'd probably still be playing."

The Penguins announced they will place Dupuis on the long-term injured reserve list, and will continue to pay his annual salary of $3.75 million until his contract runs out at the end of next season.

"I feel very badly for Pascal," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. "I've never seen a man more determined to play and more determined to help his team. Unfortunately, we've reached the point where it's not in the best interest of his health to allow him to do that anymore.

"It's tough to watch something like this, especially with a terrific guy like Dupuis and what he's done for the team. When you sit back and think about it, he's doing it for the right reasons. You have to keep his priorities straight and he's got his priorities straight."

Dupuis, a Stanley Cup winner with the Penguins in 2009, said he hopes to stick around the club despite not being able to play.

"My main goal is to help this team as much as I can to win the Stanley Cup, but it's definitely not going to be on the ice," he said.

The Canadian finishes his career with 190 goals and 409 points in 871 regular-season games, and 19 goals and 44 points in 97 Stanley Cup play-off games.