Stars right wing Jere Lehtinen made it official Wednesday: He's retiring from hockey. Lehtinen, who battled injuries the previous three seasons, had been pondering whether to return to hockey or to retire since the end of last season. Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk had kept the door open for a possible return, but Lehtinen closed it. "First of all, I wanted to thank Joe Nieuwendyk and the Stars organization for giving me some time to come to this decision. They respected the fact that I wanted to be 100 percent sure prior to making this announcement, and I appreciated that," Lehtinen said in a statement. "It's a tough decision ... The memories I have playing in Dallas will never be forgotten and I will always be proud of the fact that I finished my career where I started it." When healthy, Lehtinen was a valuable piece for the Stars. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nhl/news/story?id=5900237
