Schlacher retires

Markus Schlacher will not be offered a contract for the new season by EC VSV, and according to "Kleine Zeitung", the 33-year-old defenceman is moving into the real estate brokerage business. "I would have liked to carry on playing," the Villach native told the newspaper.

Schlacher came through the VSV youth system and won the only Austrian championship title of his career in just his third year. His sole brief spell abroad with Skelleftea in Sweden (2006/07) was followed by a permanent return to Austria and spells with Black Wings Linz, Red Bull Salzburg and Vienna Capitals, where he was converted from a forward into a defenceman.

From 2015 onwards, Schlacher was once again part of the VSV roster. He finishes with 747 appearances in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, recording 47 goals and 125 assists.

Schlacher was also a regular fixture in the Austrian national team at every World Championship since 2014. With 85 international appearances (three goals and 15 assists), the defenceman is one of the national team's most deserving players of the past decade.

For Austria head coach Roger Bader, the end of Schlacher's career is a major loss both on and off the ice: "I greatly regret that Markus was no longer able to find a place on a roster and is therefore now retiring from ice hockey. He is certainly one of the best defencemen in Austria. I was very satisfied with his performances. He was always very happy to be part of the national team; you could feel that. Markus is a very good person, and he was always a role model for the younger players in the dressing room."