Photo credit: Bob Frid – USA TODAY Sports
A former Vancouver Canucks goaltender and two-time Olympian has decided to retire from professional hockey after parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League.
Every offseason, we typically see a number of current and former National Hockey League players announce their retirement from the game and this year has been no different.
So far this summer, two former Vancouver Canucks have decided to hang up the skates including Zac Dalpe, along with former Stanley Cup champion Nick Bonino, who was expected to remain in Slovenia for one more season, but landed a coaching gig with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Friday morning, another former member of the Vancouver Canucks decided to call time on his professional hockey career after over 575 appearances in the NHL.
Former Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak announces retirement
In an interview with Tomas Prokop of Dennik Sport, former Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak announced that after two seasons on the sidelines, he’s officially announcing his retirement from hockey.
Note: the following is translated from Slovak
“I’m done, Jaroslav Halak confirmed to me in a major interview for @DennikSport. I’ll never put on the gear again, says the best Slovak goaltender in the era of independence. He also talked about which NHL club he was last in contact with, how it was with Slovan Bratislava, and about many other things.” Prokop said on X.
Halak’s National Hockey League career began back in the 2006-07 season with the Montreal Canadiens, who drafted him in the ninth round in 2003, and would go on to appear in 101 games with them across parts of four seasons, leading them to the Eastern Conference Final in 2010.
In the summer of 2021, Halak signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks and went on to play 17 games for the club where he had a record of 4-7-2 along with a 2.94 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.
After leaving the Vancouver Canucks the following summer, Halak signed with the New York Rangers for what would end up being not only his final season in the NHL, but his last-ever season of professional hockey.
The Bratislava native would then go on to suit up in 581 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, where he sported a 295-189-69 record, a 2.50 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and 53 shutouts.
On the international stage, Halak had plenty of success, leading Slovakia to a fourth place finish at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and also backstopped Team Europe to second place at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Everyone here at Canucks Daily would like to congratulate Jaroslav Halak on an excellent career in hockey and wish him all the best in retirement.
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Beloved Former Vancouver Canucks Goaltender Suddenly Announces Retirement After 17 NHL Seasons
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