Two-time Stanley Cup champion Darren Helm has announced his retirement.
36-year-old Darren Helm is calling it a career. The St. Andrews, Manitoba product is hanging up the skates after a 16-year NHL career.
Having spent the majority of his time with the Detroit Red Wings (14 seasons) where he won a Stanley Cup in 2008, Helm moved on to the Colorado Avalanche, where he added a second Stanley Cup to his resume in 2022.
In 823 regular season games, the centreman put up 119 goals and 266 points, to go alongside 256 penalty minutes. Never one to shy away from the physical side of things, Helm led all NHL players in hits (97) during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He had 13 goals and 13 assists in 103 postseason games.
Drafted 132nd overall in 2005, the former Selkirk Fisherman made a relatively quick jump to the pros. He played three seasons for the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers, before joining the Red Wings in 2007-08, where he won the Cup as a rookie. It wouldn't be until his penultimate season that he would get to hoist the trophy again.
Beleaguered by injuries, Helm pondered retirement following Colorado's Cup win in 2022. But he came back for the 2022-23 season, but only managed to suit up in 12 total games - including once in the postseason. He dealt with both upper and lower-body setbacks throughout the season, before officially calling it quits this past week.
Helm walks away with approximately $32 million in career earnings.