From Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:
Right winger Stefan Legein, the Blue Jackets’ second-round pick in 2007 and one of the top up-and-coming agitators, has decided to quit playing hockey.
Not joking.
I didn’t believe it either, but it’s been confirmed just a few minutes ago by the Blue Jackets. They got a call today from Legein’s agent, Doug Woods, telling them he won’t be at training camp and has decided to hang up his skates. He’ll be 20 years old in three months.
This story is shocking on so many different levels. Earlier today, I got an email from a Puck-Rakers reader, Bethany, of Bethany’s Hockey Rants. Actually, it was a “forward” of an email she got from an anonymous person in Ontario saying Legein had retired.
Read the entire entry from Puck-rakers here.
Obviously this came out of nowhere, as there has been no mention of Legein thinking about calling it quits. Clearly the youngster isn’t enjoying the game right now but I’m sure some time away will re-ignite his engine (see: Daniel Ryder).