Pascal Dupuis announced yesterday that he will stop playing hockey due to issues surrounding the blood clot he was diagnosed with last season.
871 career games, 409 career points
As explained by Puck Daddy, it’s not an official retirement because Duper still has years left on his contract with the Penguins. He will go on LTIR for the balance of time.
While this is undoubtedly a smart move, it breaks my little heart. Duper is beyond a fan favorite. He’s like everyone’s wacky uncle, and you know holidays will be more stressful without him at the table. He looked out for his teammates, especially awkward Crosby, and always seemed to be looking out for us at the same time.
Thanks for the memories.
To celebrate Duper, here are my 5 favorite Pascal Dupuis moments:
1. PRANKS: Duper rigged the toilet in their room to hose down Crosby upon flushing. I’d put money on it being his idea to fill Kadar’s car with styrofoam peanuts. Nealer knew it was Duper when someone tied a tail to his car… just in time for his NHL 36 special.
2. Which leads us to HAIR STYLIST. Bless his sarcastic, teasing heart.
Doing our work for us.
3. Duper’s running joke with DAAAAAAAN Potash, making every intermission a possible trip to laughland. Like this one, this one and, oh heck, they’re all my favorites. Here, Duper narrates a compilation like he’s so proud he got all his teammates in on the master plan.
4. And then there’s THE BEARD. I always want the Pens in the Final, and Duper would have been an odds-on Penguin favorite for Beard of the Year. Here’s to the pelted manbeard that Crosby’s babyscruff looked up to all these years.
2009 Stanley Cup champ
5. Of course there’s MY FANGIRL MOMENT. I meet a lot of famous people through my job. Really famous people. And I never get stupid, giddy, stammering excited like I do around hockey players I love.
Me, holding it together.
What I’ll really miss most are the days Dupuis-Crosby-Kunitz were SCORING GOALS like we eat nachos – lots of ’em, and as fast as possible. It’s been a while since this combo clicked, but the Penguins believed in reuniting them as recently as this week. [Post-Gazette] My stubborn loyalty always believed it too.
We wish Duper the best of luck, and hope to see him coaching an aspect of the Pens game very soon. Perhaps improving it. There is certainly room for that right now.
Tags: pascal dupuis, Pittsburgh Penguins
<3 Duper <3 … now off to dry my tears
A wonderful tribute, Pants! I went to see my first Pens game at the end of November, not realizing it would be his last home game. I’m grateful I got to see it for that reason alone.
Duper… always so desperate to play. This is just heartbreaking to me because through his interviews and the pieces he has written for the Players’ Tribune, I just know how much this must be killing him. And he has always been such a locker room presence, I honestly feel like Crosby really needs him around at this point. I just hope they keep him around and helping in some way. Throughout the years, it has been easy to pick up on just how great of a teammate he has been–the affection the other players have for him is palpable. I’m glad he was on our team, and I’ll miss having him on the ice. 🙁
Love this. He was one of my favorites. I’m sure going to miss him. Can’t believe you got to meet him! JEALOUS!
This beats ANY Buzzfeed list. I can’t decide which one is my favourite! You look like the perfect compliment to Duper, Pants – I feel as giddy as you look! But nothing beats Duper’s dad love for guys like Nealer and Sid. He’ll be missed… 🙁
Perfect. Just perfect.
After I got over the shock yesterday I was hoping you’d write something about Duper. Thanks for capturing him so well.
PS – I am writing this while sitting on my couch with my dog on my lap. My dog’s name is Duper.
God he is a relentless man, undrafted Stanley cup champion, even after all the blood clot issues last season, he was determined to come back. The league will miss him.