"You never want to admit you're slowing down, that you've lost a step."

Effectively, Hài Nam Hoàng admitted to exactly that today, announcing by press conference that he was planning to retire at the completion of the SHL's 80th season.

Hoàng, a five-time 30-or-more goal-scorer and one of the most consistent centermen in the league said in a short statement that the pace of the game was doing serious damage to his joints in his lower body, and said in part that his small frame limited his ability to possibly recover from hard hits.

"The game's getting bigger, I look around at what the league looks like now and everyone seems to be getting bigger, even this team's getting bigger, and maybe I'm not built for it like I was used to."

Hoàng will likely leave the game as the SHL's only representative from Vietnam, dutifully filling in as a part of Team Japan. Despite his impressive list of accomplishments, the regrets were seemingly at the forefront of his mind during the press conference.

"I wasn't as good a defensive player as I would have hoped" he said. "I think occasionally, players get forced into certain roles, and certainly I had a role to play for this team, but I wished I would have focused on that side of the game a little more. Maybe a conservative style would have helped me more.

Hoàng refused to answer questions about whether he had internal discussions with management in Minnesota regarding a trade possibility, or whether he was looking to win a Challenge Cup before his final season ran out.

Hoàng did not wear a captain's patch for the Monarchs, his career never eclipsed his peers, nor were his exceptional talents broadly celebrated, but for Minnesotans everywhere, the thought of their Monarchs being without their stalwart center of 10 seasons is a reality that may take a long time to grapple with.

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