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Retirement

Mikko Koivu Announces Retirement

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In a sudden move, Columbus Blue Jackets center Mikko Koivu has announced his retirement after just seven games this season. The 37-year-old released a statement explaining his decision:

This was not an easy decision for me as I have loved every minute of my short time in Columbus and really hoped to be able to help this team accomplish its goals this season, but the bottom line is I haven’t been able to get to the level of play that I need to be true to myself and fair to my teammates, so the time is right for me to retire from hockey. I have been extremely blessed and I am eternally grateful to the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations for the opportunities they have given me to live out my dreams of playing in the National Hockey League for the past 16 years.

Koivu will forfeit the rest of his one-year contract that carried a $1.5MM salary this season and his cap hit will come off the books for Columbus. His career ends with 1,035 regular season games, all but seven of which came with the Minnesota Wild. Just two of his 711 career points came with Columbus.

This seven-game, two-point season with Columbus is an odd addendum to a great career that was spent almost entirely with one franchise. Koivu is the Wild franchise leader for games played, assists, points, and plus/minus, while also being the longest-tenured captain in Minnesota history. The team decided to part ways with him in the offseason after several down seasons, but instead of retiring Koivu gave it one last try in Columbus.

It has been obvious for some time that Koivu wasn’t the same two-way wizard he was for so long in Minnesota, but this season he was limited to just over 12 minutes a night for the Blue Jackets. He played just nine minutes on Sunday, was a healthy scratch on Monday, and now retired on Tuesday. If he wasn’t going to play much, it never really made sense for the veteran player to put his body through a gruelling COVID-affected season, especially after so many major injuries have taken their toll on Koivu over the years.

Though he unfortunately never found much playoff success, Koivu did reach the postseason on nine different occasions throughout his long career. He’ll be remembered as one of the most consistent defensive centers of his era, receiving Selke Trophy votes in ten different seasons and finishing in the top-five on three different occasions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jimmy Howard Announces Retirement

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Veteran goaltender Jimmy Howard has officially hung up his pads, announcing his retirement on Instagram. The long-time Detroit Red Wings netminder released a statement, thanking his fans and teammates as he moves on to the next part of his adventure:

Becoming an NHL goalie was a childhood dream and after an incredible 14 years within the Red Wings organization, I’ve decided to say farewell to playing professional hockey and move on to the next chapter. It has been the honor of a lifetime to play and I’m forever thankful to the fans, everyone within the Red Wings organization, my teammates and my family for their ongoing support, loyalty and dedication. As I enter this new chapter in my life, I look forward to spending more time with my family, coaching my son’s hockey team and new opportunities the future will hold.

From his selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, to his final appearance on February 27, 2020, Howard was a Red Wing. Some teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, led by his former GM Ken Holland, tried to talk him out of retirement this winter, but it’s over for the 36-year-old. Howard ends a long career with 543 regular season appearances plus 48 more postseason games, over a 14-year span.

It might surprise you to find out that puts Howard at 62nd all-time among goaltenders, tied with Marty Turco and just a few games being Hall of Famer Johnny Bower. His 246 wins tie him for 61st, also an impressive achievement for a goaltender that almost never received Vezina Trophy votes. A beating heart of the Red Wings for the last decade-plus, Howard will get to go out without ever pulling on a different sweater.

Defense Notes: McQuaid, Klefbom, Yandle, DeAngelo

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Although it was fair to assume that the career of Adam McQuaid was over, seeing as he has not played in close to two years, the physical defenseman has officially announced his retirement to CBC’s Shane Ross. McQuaid, who played ten seasons in the NHL but routinely struggled with the injuries associated with his aggressive style, tells Ross that the pain became too much for him to handle and ultimately made him realize that he could not continue playing. “I guess I’ve known for awhile now that I wouldn’t be playing again,” McQuaid said, “It got to a point where I felt like I really kind of tapped out my body.” McQuaid, who spent the vast majority of his decade-long career with the Boston Bruins, still calls the city home and is feeling much better after hanging up the skates. McQuaid was traded by the Bruins ahead of the 2018-19 season that would be his last, which he split between the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Following off-season knee surgery and still feeling pain from a neck injury, McQuaid did not sign with anyone for the 2019-20 season and made the decision not to attempt a comeback this season either. He finishes his NHL playing career just eight hits short of one thousand and also racked up 834 blocked shots and 694 penalty minutes in 512 games. A feared opponent and a Stanley Cup champion, the rugged blue liner can enjoy retirement having had a strong career.

  • Oscar Klefbom is not retiring, but he is set to miss the entire 2020-21 season with a shoulder injury. Yet, the Edmonton Oilers defenseman still does not have a timeline for his return to action. The player and team decided that Klefbom needed to undergo major surgery to repair his chronic shoulder condition, which has caused him pain and has knocked him out of the lineup on multiple occasions over the past few years. However, that surgery has yet to even be scheduled. Klefbom, who is currently at his home in Sweden, is hoping to have the procedure done with a specialist in Cleveland, but complications due to Coronavirus and its impact on travel and medical scheduling has made setting a date for the surgery more difficult than expected. Klefbom is hoping to go under the knife and begin his recovery sooner rather than later, especially since the length of that recovery period is unknown, but for now will have to wait until the logistics become easier to manage.
  • Could Keith Yandle’s iron man streak be saved after all? In the long run, probably not. However, TSN’s Frank Seravalli does admit that there is a chance that the respected veteran could be in the Florida Panthers’ lineup when they make their season debut on Sunday. Yandle had previously been told that he was not in the team’s plans and would be a healthy scratch moving forward, as evidenced by his exclusion from the “starters” group in recent practices. However, Yandle was back working with the first-team power play on Saturday and then reportedly met with coaches and management after practice to “clear the air”, per Seravalli. It still seems as though Yandle’s future in Florida is in doubt and his full No-Movement Clause and substantial salary will make it difficult for him to be traded, so Yandle’s chances of extending his iron man streak to the NHL record of 965, especially with the Panthers, is extremely unlikely. However, he could further extend his current streak of 844 consecutive games – the fourth-most in NHL history and most for a defenseman – to 845 on Sunday.
  • Another established defenseman who is not in his team’s current plans (however briefly) is the New York Rangers’ Anthony DeAngelo. DeAngelo was a liability defensively in the Rangers’ disappointing debut on Thursday and as a result he will be a healthy scratch on Saturday night, reports the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. DeAngelo, 25, is young and talented and New York is not paying him $4.8MM to sit in the press box for the next two years, but perhaps this benching by head coach David Quinn will instill some more defensive accountability in the dynamic defender.

 

Jay Bouwmeester Announces Retirement

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It shouldn’t come as any shock today that Jay Bouwmeester has retired from the NHL. The veteran defenseman announced as much through Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, explaining that he “knew [he] was done essentially when it happened, to be quite honest.” ’It’ in this case refers to the cardiac episode that Bouwmeester experienced in February of last year, collapsing on the bench and requiring transport to a nearby hospital.

Bouwmeester didn’t play again but did show his face around the Blues again after recovering and last month St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong was clear that he would love to work with him at some point in the future.

It’s hard to explain just how beloved the 37-year-old Bouwmeester is around the NHL, not by teammates for his personality and demeanor, but by coaching staffs and front offices for his unassuming rock-solid gameplay. The smooth-skating defenseman played in 1,240 NHL games during a 17-year career, but it was rare for him to really dominate the highlight packages. Instead, he’d calmly defend and move the puck quickly, logging 25, 26, or 27 minutes of ice time without even being noticeable for much of it.

In 2007-08 for instance, he averaged 27:28 a game for the Florida Panthers, scoring 15 goals and 37 points in the process. He failed to receive even a single vote for the Norris Trophy despite playing more than anyone else that year. Even if the major awards didn’t recognize him, his coaches did. Bouwmeester was playing more than 21 minutes a night even at the very end of his career, still calmly diffusing offensive chances with his floating stride.

Even though his career was cut short, Bouwmeester still cracked the top-100 for games played in the history of the NHL, currently tied with Patrik Elias and Eric Staal for 96th overall. He managed to raise the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2019, 17 years after he was drafted third overall by the Panthers.

Perhaps most importantly, Bouwmeester told LeBrun that though it hasn’t been “totally smooth sailing” since his incident, he’s staying active and is “feeling OK.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Corey Crawford Announces Retirement

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It turns out that Corey Crawford’s indefinite personal leave of absence will be a permanent one as the veteran netminder has decided to retire, as announced by the NHLPA.  He released the following statement:

I have been fortunate to have had a long career playing professional hockey for a living. I wanted to continue my career, but believe I’ve given all I can to the game of hockey, and I have decided that it is time to retire. I would like to thank the New Jersey Devils organization for understanding and supporting my decision. I would like to thank the Chicago Blackhawks organization for giving me the chance to live my childhood dream. I am proud to have been part of winning two Stanley Cups in Chicago. Thank you to all of my teammates and coaches throughout the years. Also, thank you to the fans who make this great game what it is. I am happy and excited to move on to the next chapter of my life with my family.

The 36-year-old was unable to come to terms on an agreement with Chicago over the offseason and hit the open market.  He was able to secure the multi-year deal he had been seeking from the Blackhawks with New Jersey as they gave him a two-year, $7.8MM contract to serve as a veteran mentor and platoon partner for youngster Mackenzie Blackwood.  After putting up a 2.77 GAA with a .917 SV% in 40 games last season, it seemed like a good fit for both sides.

Instead, Crawford will retire without ever officially suiting up for New Jersey.  His playing days come to an end with 488 career NHL games under his belt – all with Chicago over parts of 13 seasons.  He worked his way up the depth chart, eventually beginning as a minor-league option and working his way up to the number one role.  He’ll hang up his skates with a 260-162-53 record with a 2.45 GAA, .918 SV%, and 26 shutouts along with a pair of Stanley Cup titles in 2013 and 2015.

New Jersey will now be faced with a challenge as they look to fill their backup spot on short notice.  Jimmy Howard is the top unrestricted free agent still available but he is coming off a season to forget with Detroit.  At this point, their best bet may be to wait for teams to make their surplus netminders available on waivers over the next couple of days and take their pick from there.  While Scott Wedgewood has some NHL experience and could conceivably begin the year as Blackwood’s backup, it seems all but a certainty that GM Tom Fitzgerald will look to add another goalie in the coming days.

While the contract is technically a 35-plus contract, the new CBA MOU provisions allow for the cap hit to not count against the books as long as it’s a back-loaded or evenly-distributed deal and doesn’t contain signing bonuses beyond the first year.  As that is the case for Crawford, New Jersey won’t face any lingering cap penalty.

Radio-Canada’s Martin Leclerc was the first to report that Crawford would be retiring.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Colin Wilson Announces Retirement

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A few months ago, Colin Wilson released a long, emotional piece in The Players’ Tribune, detailing his battle with addiction and a recent diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It was a brutally honest look at the mental health struggles of many athletes and ended with this:

And like I said, I don’t know if I’ll be back out on the ice anytime soon. But I know that, no matter what the future holds for me, I did it. I played in the NHL. I lived my dream. And I fought through hell to make a career for myself. My name might not be on the Stanley Cup, and that’s fine. Because I know there is an opportunity ahead of me to not just leave my mark on the game of hockey, but also on lives all across the world.

I don’t want to pretend like I have it all figured out, because I don’t. I’m still learning as I go. But what I do know comes from what I went through. So if you’re going through it, remember this:

Be kind to yourself, to your mind.

Have patience with your soul, your body.

And know that you don’t have to do it alone.

Today, he has at least figured out what the future will not hold. Wilson has retired after 11 NHL seasons, explaining that though it is a bittersweet moment to leave hockey behind, he’s excited for what will come next in his life.

Originally selected seventh overall by the Nashville Predators in 2008, Wilson made it to the NHL by the 2009-10 season and never looked back. A solid middle-six contributor, he reached a career-high of 20 goals and 42 points in 2014-15. In 632 career games, he scored 286 points, helping his team reach the playoffs on eight different occasions.

Though his career likely didn’t burn as bright as some expected after his dominant performances at Boston University, Wilson can still say he was a very good NHL player. Wish him well in the next chapter of his life and hope that the honesty he showed in October can continue to guide him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ryan Callahan Announces Retirement

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After being forced to miss last season due to injury, Ryan Callahan has officially announced his retirement.

In a message on Twitter, the veteran forward thanked everyone that had been a part of his 13-year career, including the New York Rangers for giving him a chance when they selected him 127th overall in 2004. Callahan would eventually become captain of the Rangers, not bad for a hard-working mid-round pick from the OHL.

Next, Callahan thanks the Tampa Bay Lightning, the second chapter in his NHL career where he spent the last five and a half seasons. More than his on-ice success, he thanks the Lightning for helping launch his charitable foundation.

A veteran of 757 regular season NHL games, Callahan twice made it to the Stanley Cup Finals but failed to lift the silver chalice over his head. His career will end with 386 points, but it’s his do-anything-it-takes attitude that teammates and fans will remember long after he’s gone. Joe Smith of The Athletic profiles Callahan for perhaps the final time, explaining how his career winded down in Tampa while getting some insight into where his life will lead him now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mark Letestu Announces Retirement

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Mark Letestu never tallied more than 16 goals in a season, but the forward still put together an impressive NHL career as a key utility player, appearing in 567 games. However, that time looks like it’s over as The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required) writes that Letestu is retiring.

“The tool bag … it’s had enough,” Letestu told The Athletic on Sunday. “I skated good enough. I shot the puck really well. I thought the game really well. But I got a lot of breaks along the way, too, right from the very start. Luck is a big part of all of it, absolutely, but I also took advantage of those opportunities and played well when I needed to. I got a lot of time out of being a short, slow guy in a fast man’s league.”

The 35-year-old Letestu hasn’t seen much NHL action since playing 80 games between Edmonton and Columbus in 2017-18. He stayed with Columbus for the 2018-19 season, but spent most of that time with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, playing 64 games there, while only appearing in two games with the Blue Jackets that year. Last year wasn’t much better as Letestu signed with the Winnipeg Jets last offseason, but even with their injury woes, Letestu still only played seven games for the Jets.

Letestu originally signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, eventually playing four years for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He signed with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015 and played with the Oilers for three seasons before the Blue Jackets reacquired him at the trade deadline in 2018 to help out in their playoff hopes. He was known as a jack-of-all trades forward, who could operate in any situation on the ice, making him quite valuable to any team that had him. His best season was in 2016-17 with the Oilers when he tallied 16 goals and 35 points (along with 11 points in 13 playoff games). In all, Letestu scored 93 goals and 210 points over his 12-year career.

Deryk Engelland Announces Retirement

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One of the most beloved players in Vegas Golden Knights (short) history has decided to hang up his skates. Deryk Engelland has retired from playing professional hockey after 11 seasons in the NHL. He will remain with the organization as Special Assistant to the Owner, Bill Foley, who released a statement:

Deryk Engelland epitomizes what it means to be a Golden Knight. A no-ego, selfless, hardworking player who has an unwavering commitment to protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. Since he joined our organization in 2017, Deryk’s service to our community has been exemplary. On behalf of the entire Vegas Golden Knights organization, we would like to congratulate Deryk on an outstanding career. He has made an indelible mark on our city and we are excited for this next chapter, as he stays with the Golden Knights family and continues the outstanding work he has done in our community.

Engelland was never a top player in the NHL, but he had a special connection to Las Vegas that helped the franchise get off the ground immediately in 2017. Selected by the New Jersey Devils in 2000, he spent the first two seasons of his professional hockey career with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. After stops in Lowell, South Carolina, Hershey, Reading, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh, and Calgary, he made it back when he was picked in the expansion draft—though he had never really left in the first place. His familiarity with the city allowed him to help the new players feel comfortable as they went to the expansion franchise, but it was his words to a packed arena on October 10, 2017 that cemented him as a Vegas legend.

Nine days earlier, just before the season started, Las Vegas had been shaken by a mass shooting that killed 58 people. Engelland stood at center ice before the first home game in franchise history and delivered a short, emotional speech.

Like all of you, I’m proud to call Las Vegas home. I met my wife here. Our kids were born here. I know how special this city is. To all the brave first responders that have worked tirelessly and courageously through this whole tragedy, we thank you. To all the families and friends of the victims, we’ll do everything we can to help you and our city heal. We are Vegas Strong.

At 4:18 of the first period, Engelland scored the second goal on home ice in Golden Knights history. It was just the 23rd of his career.

Alex Steen Announces Retirement

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The St. Louis Blues will not have Alex Steen on the ice for them this season, announcing today that the veteran forward has been forced to retire due to a back injury. The release indicates that he has “multiple levels of degenerative herniated discs of his lumbar spine.” Though he is retiring, Steen’s contract won’t actually be coming off the books entirely.

Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic confirms that he will be treated as an injured player for this, the last season of his contract, meaning he will earn his full $3.5MM salary and the Blues will still have to deal with his $5.75MM cap hit. That cap hit can be moved to long-term injured reserve for cap relief, though it is still a more complicated process than the complete relief that actual retirement would bring.

Steen, 36, started his NHL journey back in 2002 when he was selected 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, though he wouldn’t actually make it to North America until 2005. When he did, he was already a polished professional from his years in the Swedish Elite League and stepped into the Maple Leafs lineup immediately. With 18 goals and 45 points in his rookie season, there were high hopes that he could be a superstar in Toronto. After a few more solid, if unspectacular seasons, the Maple Leafs made one of their patented (at the time) moves to secure a more veteran talent, trading Steen and fellow first-round pick Carlo Colaiacovo to the Blues for Lee Stempniak.

His Maple Leaf career in the rearview, Steen started the real meat of his hockey journey with St. Louis, a team that he would play 12 seasons and more than 850 games for. Seven different times he earned votes for the Selke Trophy as one of the league’s best defensive forwards, while also reaching new career highs in goals (33) and points (64). His career finishes with 622 points in 1,018 games, and at long last, he got to lift the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Steen isn’t a hall of fame candidate, but he will go down as half of one of the best father-son duos to play in the NHL. His father, Thomas Steen, played 950 games with the Winnipeg Jets and tallied 817 points of his own while also earning Selke votes for that focus on defense. When Alex Steen scored his 600th point during the 2018-19 season, they became just the fourth father-son duo to each record at least that number, behind Gordie Howe/Mark Howe, Bobby Hull/Brett Hull, and Peter Stastny/Paul Stastny. Quite the great company to be in.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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