Vadim Shipachyov: Makes retirement official

Shipachyov officially retired from the NHL on Thursday, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports.

Shipachyov's North American career has finally come to a conclusion. Last season's leading scorer in the KHL, the pivot arrived in Vegas amidst much fanfare but was never really given a chance to prove himself in the world's best hockey league. Upon his retirement, Shipachyov is now eligible to join a KHL franchise immediately -- which he is expected to do. Vegas owns Shipachyov's NHL rights for the next five years, making a potential return to the NHL highly unlikely.