Confirmed with Link: Bryce Salvador retires

[billingtons ghost]

All the best to Sal.

It's always sad to see guys reach the end of their careers - particularly guys like Sal, Zids, Volch - who really gave their all on the ice with the Devils.

The guy was a great captain.

 

[NJDevs26]

His battle to come back and his run in 2012 shows how much character he had. It also shows that maybe sometimes it is bad to hide what is wrong with your players. If Lou had not been so tight lipped and let the fans know what was going on, maybe we wouldn't have been so hard on the guy.

Nobody was that hard on Sal until the last contract...the concussion/sensory injury happened a couple years before that and he was over it (thankfully) by 2012.

And part of the point of the article was that even Sal and Lou didn't know what was going on for months and months. How could they tell us anything when they needed some advanced military specialist to finally figure out what was wrong?

 

[Zippy316]

All the best to Sal.

It's always sad to see guys reach the end of their careers - particularly guys like Sal, Zids, Volch - who really gave their all on the ice with the Devils.

The guy was a great captain.

You can add Zubrus, Pandolfo, and even White to them.

And the biggest link they all have is they were all character guys -- both on and off the ice. Which is a big reason why I am a lot more excited for some of the Devils prospects like Coleman and Pietila who seem like they are those kind of players.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Firstly, congrats to Salvador on a great career. Enjoy your retirement.

Secondly, after reading Salvador article and the seriousness of the injuries he suffered including how long the rehab was, i am absolutely staggered that Lou signed him to a 3 year deal. Knowing that a minor hit can put him on the shelf for an extended period, he should of got a 1 year deal that gets re-assessed at the end of the season. I'm really not sure what Lou was thinking given the injury history of Sal and i'm kinda glad Lou left the team. Apologies if that seems kinda of harsh.

 

[njdevils1982]

i echo what all of us have said here already but ill add that not for a second i thought he would see the ice with the team this season

cheers to sal!

 

[Devilsgrl35]

That was a fantastic Players Tribune article. That must have been very scary to go through. For him to comeback from that and help lead us to the Stanley Cup Finals is incredible. Thank you Bryce for the memories. Good luck in your future endeavors.

 

[Bleedred]

I'm halfway tempted to try out the ''10 second rule'' Bryce talked about after spinning in the chair and being dizzy. He said the doctor told him it takes 10 seconds before dizziness goes away for a person who is normal, or I forget the exact wording or phrasing he used.

I'm seriously curious to see how long it takes me to return from dizziness after spinning in my chair, I don't have a lot of room in here to spin around real fast though.

 

[The Wumpus]

Happy trails, Sal. Have fun with the kids.

Salvador for Janssen was one of Lou's best trades. Straight-up burglary.

 

[goonybird]

I'm halfway tempted to try out the ''10 second rule'' Bryce talked about after spinning in the chair and being dizzy. He said the doctor told him it takes 10 seconds before dizziness goes away for a person who is normal, or I forget the exact wording or phrasing he used.

I'm seriously curious to see how long it takes me to return from dizziness after spinning in my chair, I don't have a lot of room in here to spin around real fast though.

oh man don't hurt yourself budzo, you'll GIVE yourself a concussion

 

[Wingman77]

Pretty cool that he's getting as involved as he is in hockey in NJ whether at the pro level or youth;

What exactly will your job with the Devils entail?

“That's another decision where you're not really worried about a title. I'm going to be involved and I'm excited about that. I'm not really one of those guys that needs a title or anything official. I'm just excited that I'm going to have an ongoing relationship with the Devils. I hope in maybe 10 years from now, my goal is to be in management in the NHL. My horizon over the next 10 to 15 years is slowly understanding the game from the business side and all of that stuff because I really do have an interest in business and that part of the game. That takes time and that's what I'm looking at focusing my energy and efforts into, so I'm pretty excited about that and just with the opportunity the Devils are going to extend for me to pursue that and see if that's something that I enjoy doing.”

Was making the decision to retire emotional?

“I'm pretty fortunate in a sense that I'm really active in hockey, so a lot of the efforts that I would be putting into playing hockey will just be kind of directed into the business side of hockey and just being involved in, I know a lot of people say it but, helping to grow the game. Really local here, I'm getting involved in youth hockey through the Rockets hockey association. I'm getting involved in a hockey equipment store (He co-owns xHockey Products with former NHL goalie Peter Ing) . So, I'm really getting involved here locally in hockey. I'm putting a lot of energy into hockey and then what I'm going to be doing with the Devils as well, so it's been a great transition from that standpoint in that I'm going to put all of this energy, I'm used to doing something every day, every day, instead of to nothing.

“So, I think that's really helped a lot, just the fact I'm still actively involved in hockey and, in terms of an energy level, a pretty high level. I'm going to helping train a lot of kids. Over the next extended time here in New Jersey, we're going to be doing a lot of great things here locally with training facilities and training programs and I'm going to be actively involved in a lot of that stuff.”

So, you plan to continue living in New Jersey long-term?

“Yeah, I'm going to be here for quite a long time. My oldest one, he's really into theater and acting and stuff like that, so there's no better place to be. And my youngest one is at the age where he's getting into hockey. So, there's no need to move, absolutely not. My family calls New Jersey home.”

Also loved this quote - nice to see a guy that gets it and who better than a former 6th rounder who's ceiling was hardly projected to be much of anything turning his career into what he did;

“Nobody has it easy throughout their life no matter what they're doing. It's how you handle the situations that define you. So, I wouldn't change any part of my career because doing so would change the person I am right now. You just can't expect everything to always be rosy.”

http://fireandice.northjersey.com/fire-ice-1.174987/bryce-salvador-reflects-on-career-looks-forward-to-next-chapter-hopes-to-work-in-management-1.1402442

 

[Wingman77]

 

[Uli Hiemer]

Great read.

I wish him the best of luck...his 2012 playoff run was a treat to watch.

His kids should definitely be proud of their dad.

 

[NJDevilsZG]

What a warrior!

One tidbit from 2012 run that I'll always remember - his "No-name D" water bottle. Awesome in so many ways.

Godspeed Sal, our offensive Wizard!! (I'd appreciate it if someone found that pic and posted it here)

 

[Bleedred]

I said he was our best defenseman during that season, I still think he was too. Greene was ultimately better, but I think he missed about two months of games that season. Fayne was good, though he looked like a nightmare when paired with Turdlinder which was a regular pairing until Tallinder got injured and Greene came back in the lineup. (it can't be too long before Mr team Corsi leader is making his own retirement announcement).

He was great on the PK that season, I remember him saving about 3-4 or maybe even 5 goals with a glove or stick in the crease that season.

And I was SOOOOO glad we kept him over the rotting colon that offseason, despite the ''Whitey is better than Sal bro! We're buying him out so we can keep Salvador?'' that I heard all the time that offseason. Though it was understandable in all fairness to those people, Salvador was a 35 year old that missed an entire season with a major injury. I understood the skepticism at the time. I saw White grenade completely very early that season with the Sharks. God forbid we didn't have Salvador in the 11-12 season and had White playing those same minutes?

 

[BaysideDevilFan]

It's a shame that so many fans made it a personal vendetta on the guy for getting old and getting injured when his game went south. I'll still always hold that grudge with the general fan base for booing him in the starting lineup and at team events.

That aside, I always loved Sal because of the way that he played the game. Of any player out there, Sal exemplifies doing things the right way. When things weren't going his way or he was battling back from an injury, he never made excuses or blamed anyone else, he just tried to work 10 times harder to get himself back to where he had once been. No guy worked harder to get himself in shape for the season than Sal.

In hindsight, of course the contract doesn't look good. But he may have very well been the MVP of the first 3 rounds for the Devils in that Finals run and supposedly got higher value on the open market. He came back because he wanted to be back. You couldn't ask for a better locker room guy. It's a shame his career had to end this way.

I'll never forget the Summer of Sal.

I could not agree anymore.

 

[regulahbread]

Thanks for everything, Sal. I may have given him a little more grief than he deserved his last couple years, but at the end of the day, he was a warrior til the very end.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I get that, probably to a lot of people, Salvador never seemed like anything special as a player for a lot of his time as a Devil. But when you think of all the players that might have been given the C after Langenbrunner and Parise, the fact that it went to Salvador says a lot, I think. You can tell from the Players Tribune article how much he cares about the team and the game, and that attitude is contagious. Pretty meaningful that out of Elias and Zajac and Greene and Henrique, Salvador was the guy chosen to represent the team.

And after reading his farewell article, I couldn't be happier to hear he's sticking around the organization. Anyone that cares that much about hockey is exactly the kind of person Lou would want hanging around and sharing that attitude with others.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Sal made a lot of heartfelt and gracious comments about being a Devil.

Great to see, not all recent ex-Devil retirees have shown such gratitude.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Sal made a lot of heartfelt and gracious comments about being a Devil.

Great to see, not all recent ex-Devil retirees have shown such gratitude.

Sal is a great, classy guy. I think everyone will give him that. It's nice that he still wants to be involved in hockey around these parts even though he's no longer going to be an NHL player.

 

[GhostofKenKlee]

Sal made a lot of heartfelt and gracious comments about being a Devil.

Great to see, not all recent ex-Devil retirees have shown such gratitude.

Like who? Marty..