Rumors had been swirling about Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk returning to his native Russia, and the 37-year-old confirmed to Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press that he would be leaving Detroit at the end of the playoffs.
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On Saturday, Detroit clinched its 25th straight playoff berth, 14 of which the career Red Wing has been a part. But according to Albom, Datsyuk first got the itch to return to Russia permanently when he played there during the NHL's last lockout in 2012.