Veteran blueliner Jordie Benn has officially announced his retirement.
Former Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jordie Benn has decided to call it quits.
The 37-year-old announced his decision to retire in an interview with Paul Haysom of CHEK News.
“It’s a weird feeling that training camp is not around the corner, but it’s been a really fun ride,” Benn told Haysom.
Undrafted, Benn suited up with the Dallas Stars alongside his brother Jamie for a number of seasons.
He was moved to Montreal, before continuing his tour of the northernmost NHL clubs with stops in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Minnesota, before ultimately concluding his stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 12 seasons, he put up 26 goals, 137 points and 244 penalty minutes in 607 games.
“A lot of people thought I never should have made it, and maybe I shouldn’t have, but I just worked as hard as I could every night and tried to be the best teammate possible,” Benn said.
Benn suited up with Brynas IF in Sweden last year, winning the HockeyAllsvenskan championship to go alongside three goals and 19 assists in 22 games. He also served as the captain of Team Canada at the 2023 Spengler Cup.
The rugged blueliner came to Winnipeg via Vancouver at the end of the 2021-22 season. He only suited up in eight games as a backup defensive option, but he did manage to register an assist and two penalty minutes. He put up the same stat line in three postseason games for the Jets that spring as well.