Canadian curling great Brad Gushue will call it a career at the end of the 2025-26 season.

The 45-year-old native of St. John’s, Nfld., announced his retirement plans Wednesday afternoon in a social media post as his foursome prepares for an important season, with Olympic glory in Italy being the major carrot.

Gushue is adored in his home province, considered curling royalty in Canada, and viewed as one of the greatest, if not the greatest curler to ever step on the pebbled ice.

From world junior championships to Brier Tankards to Olympic gold, Gushue has won everything there is to win in the sport. And he’s done it for more than two decades.

Gushue explains his decision to retire at the conclusion of the upcoming season Canadian curling great Brad Gushue will call it a career at the end of the 2025-26 season. He joins Bob Weeks to discuss how he came to the decision, his hopes for his victory lap and what the next chapter might look like.

Here are some of the impressive numbers from Gushue’s career.

Brad Gushue: By The Numbers

Olympic Medals: Gold (2006), Bronze (2022)

World Championships: Gold (2017), Silver (2018, 2022, 2023, 2024)

Brier Tankards: 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 (six, most all-time by a skip)

Career games at Brier – 268 over 22 appearances (most all-time)

Career wins at the Brier – 189 (most all-time)

Grand Slam wins – 15 (sixth most all-time)

Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championships: Gold (2021)

World Junior Championships – Gold (2001)

With Gushue set to enter his final season, let’s look back at some of the greatest moments from his storied curling career.

Junior Success

Gushue won the first of six provincial junior championships in 1995 at the age of 14. He was a second for Ryan Davis at the time and finished last at the Canadian Junior Championships in Regina.

A year later, Gushue returned to the Canadian juniors, this time as skip, and improved with a few more wins to his record.

By 1999, Gushue was in the playoffs at the Canadian juniors and lost the 2000 final to Brad Kuhn of British Columbia.

In his final appearance at the event in 2001, Gushue, alongside teammates Mark Nichols, Brent Hamilton and Mike Adam, won the Canadian junior championship with an 8-3 victory over Manitoba’s Mike McEwen in the final from St. Catharines, Ont. Gushue shot 94 per cent in the championship game.

A month later, Gushue stood atop the podium at the World Junior Championships in Ogden, Utah after defeating Denmark, 7-6, in the gold-medal game.

“It feels great to win, especially after the hard work that we have put in over the season,” Gushue said after the game. “We practise at least 10 times a week.

“These guys, my team, are my best friends and buddies. So it is great for us all to win and bring gold to Canada, and especially back to Newfoundland.”

That win was just the beginning for the St. John’s skipper.

Olympic Trials Breakout in Halifax Brad Gushue Brad Gushue (The Canadian Press)

After an impressive junior career, Gushue jumped up to men’s curling in 2002. He made his Brier debut in 2003 in Halifax after winning provincial playdowns in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Gushue just missed the playoffs with a 6-5 record as a rookie that year. A season later in Saskatoon, Gushue advanced to the final four before losing to B.C.’s Jay Peachey in 3 vs. 4-page playoff.

Entering the 2005 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Halifax, Gushue was starting to make a name for himself following some solid Brier results. But he wasn’t in the same stratosphere as Randy Ferbey, Glenn Howard, Kevin Martin and Jeff Stoughton, who were all determined to represent Canada the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

However, Gushue’s new recruit would change everything.

Two-time Brier and world champion Russ Howard joined Team Gushue in May of 2005, serving as the team’s second and shot caller for the Halifax Trials.

The new-look foursome, which also featured Mark Nichols and Jamie Korab, didn’t have many reps together as a group, but Howard’s veteran presence proved to be a major difference.

Gushue finished round-robin play with an 8-1 record, earning a bye straight to the final as the top seed. Team Gushue took on Manitoba’s Team Stoughton in the final on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005.

Gushue took a 6-2 lead through four ends before Stoughton made it a game, needing a deuce in the 10th end to force an extra.

Russ Howard and Brad Gushue Russ Howard and Brad Gushue

With his last throw of the game, Gushue nailed a runback, all but eliminating Stoughton’s chance at a tie. A measure a few moments later confirmed that Gushue and company were headed to Torino with the Maple Leaf on their backs.

At the Winter Games, Team Gushue took on Finland’s Team Markku Uusipaavalniemi in the gold-medal match.

The final was a close contest in the first half until Gushue broke it open with a six-spot in the sixth end, eventually winning gold with a commanding 10-4 victory.

Immediately after winning gold, Gushue called his mom, Maureen, who was back home in Newfoundland and Labrador battling cancer. The moment was seen live on television.

“My heart hasn’t stopped racing since [scoring six points],” Gushue told CBC after the game. “I knew when he missed that last one it was over.”

Party on The Rock Team Brad Gushue celebrates 2017 Brier Team Brad Gushue celebrates 2017 Brier (Curling Canada)

After capturing Olympic glory in Italy, Gushue was a rockstar in Newfoundland and a household name in the world of curling.

Despite that, it took time for Gushue to find the same success at the Brier.

Gushue made the Canadian championship every year over the next decade, playing with a handful of notable curlers, including Ryan Fry, Chris Schille, Adam Casey and even Ferbey for a very brief stint.

Gushue was a regular in the Brier playoffs and made the 2007 and 2016 finals, losing to Glenn Howard and Kevin Koe, respectively.

Entering the highly anticipated 2017 Brier in St. John’s, Nfld., Gushue’s Brier burden had officially become a thing.

The 36-year-old was the best curler to never hoist the Tankard and was also representing a curling-crazed province hosting its first Brier since 1972 and looking for its first win since Jack McDuff accomplished the feat 41 years earlier.

All the ingredients were there for a Hollywood ending.

It didn’t get off to an ideal start as Team Gushue went 3-2 over their first five games, including an 8-4 upset loss to Team Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories.

Despite the early up-and-down results, the St. John’s faithful never lost support for Gushue as the Mile One Centre brought their best for each of the hometown team’s games.

Team Gushue quickly found their way after the Koe loss, reeling off six straight victories to close the round robin before downing Manitoba’s Team Mike McEwen in the 1 vs. 2- page playoff.

Gushue squared off with Kevin Koe in the final, a rematch of the 2016 final in Ottawa that Gushue lost 9-5.

St. John’s erupted after Gushue scored three in the second end but were later silenced briefly when Koe nailed a three-spot of his own in the sixth before stealing a single in the seventh.

It all came down to the last throw of the game, when Gushue needed to make the biggest draw of his life to the eight-foot to seal the victory.

As the rock slid down the ice, the crowd grew louder and louder, knowing it was going to be close. Nichols eventually jumped up to sweep as Geoff Walker was dealing with an injury.

The extra sweep was enough as Gushue’s rock slid far enough to capture his first Brier Tankard on his 14th try, sending the raucous St. John’s crowd into a frenzy.

It was also the first Canadian men’s curling championship for Nichols, Brett Gallant and Walker.

“I’ve been close so many times and we as a team have been close,” Gushue said. “To finally win it — and win it at home — you couldn’t ask for a better story. It’s awesome.”

The Patch, which usually closes for the week ahead of the final, stayed open late that night in St. John’s as fans packed the venue to celebrate with Gushue and the B’ys.

The party got so crazy that the Tankard even went crowd surfing.

Tankard going crowd surfing Tankard going crowd surfing (The Canadian Press)

“We got up on stage and said a few words. I had the Brier Tankard in my hands and for some reason I thought it would be good idea to pass it around the crowd,” Gushue told TSN.ca in 2020. “The crowd had such a big impact on our win throughout the week…the excitement. We kind of took that energy. We felt like they were our sixth man. My thought was that I would share this with them. And when I passed it out, I saw some of the faces on Curling Canada, the folks that were there, they were a little stressed. I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if that was the best idea.’ After a couple minutes of going around, it got back to me and no damage done. I talked to a lot of curling fans that were there, and they thought it was pretty cool.”

With his Brier burden relinquished, Gushue was primed for a run of dominant success.

Top of the World Brad Gushue Brad Gushue (The Canadian Press)

Gushue represented Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship for the first time in his career in 2017.

Taking place in Edmonton, Team Gushue picked up exactly where they left off in St. John’s, winning all 11 of their games in the round robin, shooting a scorching 92 per cent as a team in the process.

Gushue defeated Swedish rival Niklas Edin, 7-4, the 1 vs. 2-page playoff before defeating him again in a low-scoring final, 4-2, to complete the undefeated 13-0 run.

“Awesome, awesome,” Gushue told Curling Canada after the win. “Our team played so incredibly well all week. I need to give my team credit, that was a pretty dominating performance for the whole week.

“And what a heck of a game. Niklas threw everything he had at us, and we had to play our best to win. I’m so proud of my team the way they played.”

On top of the World With Brad Gushue back at the men’s world curling championship, the team reflects on their success at the 2017 tournament and how much fun they had.

With the victory, Gushue became the first skip to win a world junior title, Olympic gold, a Brier and a men’s world championship.

Gushue was superb all week, shooting 93 per cent for the tournament, eight points better than the second-best skip.

Gushue hasn’t reached world supremacy since 2017, settling for silver at the 2018, 2022, 2023 and 2024 world championships, losing to Edin on three occasions.

The Dynasty Years

Dynasty Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue is a record five-time Brier champion skip, having won in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023 all with Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, and Geoff Walker, except for 2023 with E. J. Harnden replacing Gallant. Here is a look back at their historic run.

Gushue put his name in the G.O.A.T conversation in the years that followed the memorable 2016-17 campaign.

The veteran skip defended his Canadian championship at the 2018 Brier in Regina before winning his third in four years in Kingston, Ont., in 2020, topping Brendan Bottcher on both occasions.

However, Gushue’s 2022 Brier triumphant might be his most memorable behind St. John’s.

Gushue defeated Canadian rival Brad Jacobs in the 2021 Canadian Trails final to book his second career trip to the Olympics.

The Canadians finished third in those difficult Beijing Games as the 2022 Olympics were hindered by severe restrictions and mandates due to COVID-19. Physically and emotionally drained, Gushue and his team were in Lethbridge, Alta., less than two weeks later to compete in the Brier as a Wild Card rink.

The Lethbridge Brier was viewed as Team Gushue’s last dance as rumours swirled Gallant was planning on playing out West for the new quadrennial.

Tim Hortons Brier: Final – Alberta 8, Wild Card Gushue 9 (11) Brad Gushue’s three-man Wild Card rink defeated Alberta’s Kevin Koe in extra ends to win the Brier Final on Sunday. Brad Gushue won his fourth Brier title, while denying Koe his record-setting fifth title. Gushue’s rink became the first to ever win the Brier without a full roster.

Despite their exhaustion, Team Gushue finished first in Pool B with an 8-0 record and were frontrunners heading into the playoffs. That was until they received some devastating news ahead of their page seeding match against defending champ Team Bottcher.

Nichols tested positive for COVID and would be sidelined for the remainder of the tournament, forcing Gushue to play with just three players the rest of the way.

Gushue called the news a “gut punch on top of a kick in the groin.”

After falling to Bottcher, Gushue, Gallant and Walker outlasted Team Colton Flasch and Team Bottcher in elimination games to set up another clash with Team Koe in the final.

“It’s like playing a hockey game and killing a penalty for 60 minutes.”

Brad Gushue describes what it’s like to play with three people and his expectations for the rest of #Brier2022 pic.twitter.com/M7kRnbPjGX

— TSN Curling (@TSNCurling) March 13, 2022

The championship contest went to an extra end with Gushue needing to execute a fairly simple takeout to win his fourth Brier Tankard.

“This is for you, Mark,” Gushue told the cameras immediately following the win.

No team in the long history of the Brier history had won the championship with three players.

“You know, what the three of us pulled off here the last few days, man oh man, it’s pretty crazy,” said Gushue. “I never thought a team of three could go through a gauntlet of Koe, Bottcher and Flasch in the Brier playoffs. That’s crazy.”

Gallant left Team Gushue for Bottcher’s new-look rink the following season, leaving Gushue to add E.J. Harnden to his squad.

Tim Hortons Brier: Final – Canada 7, Manitoba 5 Brad Gushue has done it again at the Tim Hortons Brier and now stands alone as the most decorated male skip in Canadian history. For the fifth time in the past seven years, Gushue and his rink from St. John’s, Nfld., are Canadian men’s curling champions after downing Matt Dunstone and his team from Manitoba in Sunday’s final from Budweiser Gardens in London.

The new lineup didn’t slow anything down as Gushue beat Matt Dunstone in the 2023 Brier final in London, Ont., before doing the same to McEwen at the 2024 Brier in Regina, completing the three-peat and the sixth Canadian championship in eight years for Gushue.

It also tied Ferbey for the most Tankard wins all-time.

Mixed Doubles Title for Good MeasureKerri Einarson et Brad Gushue

Due to COVID-19, the 2021 Season of Champions was played in the Calgary curling bubble.

Following a disappointing Brier week, Gushue teamed up with Kerri Einarson for the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.

The two world-class skips, who were both a year removed from winning their national championship in four-person curling, found instant chemistry in Calgary, eventually winning gold following a 9-6 victory over Kadriana and Colton Lott in the final.

“To come here and have a disappointing performance at the Brier and then follow it up with a good performance here, it kind of makes up for a lot of the crappy stuff that’s happened over the last year,” Gushue said.

“I really enjoyed playing with Kerri. Even off the ice, telling stories, laughing and teasing each other, it’s been a ton of fun. Definitely picked up my spirits.”

Einarson and Gushue finished fourth at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.

Gushue was actually a win away from representing Canada in mixed doubles at the 2018 Olympics, but lost the Trials finals to Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris, alongside playing partner Val Sweeting.

The Last DanceTeam Brad Gushue Team Brad Gushue (Curling Canada)

The 2025-26 curling season will be Gushue’s last.

At 45, Gushue is still one of the best skips in the game and is a top contender at every event he enters.

Gushue’s current team, featuring Nichols, Bottcher and Walker, have booked their spot in November’s Canadian Curling Trials where the St. John’s native will look to become the first Canadian skip to qualify for three Olympic Games.

The Trials are even returning to Halifax, the site of Gushue’s breakout event in 2005.

Gushue will then have one last opportunity to play on The Rock as the 2026 Montana’s Brier is returning to St. John’s in March.