Paul Stastny, a 37-year-old, well-traveled center who transformed his game from a first-line, power-play-type forward to a third- and fourth-line specialist, has decided to retire from the NHL.
Stastny, who played last season, his 17th in the league, with the Carolina Hurricanes, told The Athletic this week that he made his decision this fall.
“I haven’t filed anything, but in early September we decided we were done. I didn’t put anything out on social media or anything,” he told the outlet. “I kind of came into the league quietly, and I’m leaving the league quietly. That’s the way I like it. All the people close to me know, and then word always gets out eventually.”
Stastny finished last season with nine goals and 22 points, all while playing on a bargain of a one-year deal, that included a salary-cap hit of just $1.5 million. At times, when first-line star Sebastian Aho was injured for Carolina, Stastny was bumped up to the first line for the Hurricanes, who won the Metropolitan Division.
A 2005 first-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Stastny played for five teams across his career, including two stints with the Winnipeg Jets. Since 2019, he found his way onto three clubs, including the Vegas Golden Knights.
Playing time, for a fourth-line forward on a deep time like Carolina, was tough to come by last season, and Stastny had to settle for an average time on ice of just 11:52, by far the lowest of his career. But he was still able to chip in four power-play points and finished as a plus-4 player.
Stastny hadn’t played a full regular season since dressing for 82 games in his rookie season with the Avalanche in 2006-07, but at what was expected to be a cut rate with a small contract term, there figured to be plenty of contending teams giving his camp a call.
Instead, he will head into retirement seven goals shy of 300 for his career.
Stastny is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame forward Peter Stastny, who played in the NHL from 1980-1995, finishing with 450 goals and 1,239 points.