Forward Paul Stastny is retiring following a 17-year NHL career.
Veteran forward Paul Stastny has decided to call it a career.
After 1,145 regular season games, to which he accrued 822 points, the soon-to-be 38-year-old has silently moved on from his playing career.
In an interview with The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, Stastny opened up on his decision to finish off his playing time as he turns his attention to the next chapters of his life.
“I’ve been playing for 17 years," he told LeBrun. "It’s been a long time, I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. Now I love being at home and love being with the kids. Just love being able to do other things now. I’m very much at peace with it, that’s for sure.”
In that conversation with LeBrun, Stastny touched on each of the five stops along his NHL journey, which included Colorado, St. Louis, Vegas, Winnipeg and Carolina.
The two-time Jet actually mentioned Winnipeg as a city and team that helped resurrect the later stages of his career, calling it "the best thing that ever happened to me."
“They were all different chapters in my life, and I loved them all,” Stastny told LeBrun. “The Colorado days, I was a kid, I played with some great veterans, and some of my best friends I played with there. St. Louis was like the closest group of guys. For some reason, all those guys in St. Louis are me and my wife’s closest friends. We were all in the same chapter of our lives at the time, where everyone just got married.
"And then Winnipeg rejuvenated my career. That’s the best thing that ever happened to me was probably going to Winnipeg. I’m forever grateful for that. Las Vegas was a blast. Playing with different players, having different coaches, you get to see everything."
In 146 regular season games for the Jets, Stastny had 38 goals and 87 points, before adding another seven goals and 17 points in 23 postseason contests in Winnipeg.
He retires with approximately $85 million in career earnings.