On Tuesday, the NHL watched three legends walk away from the game.
A trio of extremely successful defensemen announced that the 2021-2022 campaign will have been their last in the NHL. Despite being some of the best players still available for teams to sign, these three decided that it was time to wrap up their careers.
The first announcement to come across our screens was that of Zdeno Chara. The 6’9″ blueliner played in 1,680 games throughout his 24-year career as a member of the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals.
He scored 209 goals and 471 assists for 680 points during his time in the NHL. He compiled over 2,000 penalty minutes, carried a plus-301 rating, served as the Bruins captain for many seasons, won the Norris Trophy in 2009, and won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011.
Three legendary defensemen have retired from the NHL.
Big Z’s size, physicality, and leadership made him one of the league’s most unique and impressive players. He finished his career last season with the Islanders at the age of 45.
Following Chara was P.K. Subban. The 33-year-old played in parts of 13 seasons in his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils.
In 834 games, he amassed 467 points (115 goals and 352 assists), including a 38-point campaign during the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 campaign (42 games played). He won the Norris Trophy that season while with the Canadiens.
Although Subban did not win the Stanley Cup, he reached the Final in 2017 with the Predators. He was a Norris finalist two times in addition to his win, and he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy last season. You can expect to see P.K. on NHL broadcasts of some kind in the future.
Finally, Keith Yandle decided to call it a career as well. The former fourth-round pick played in 1,109 games for the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers.
In his 16 seasons, Yandle scored 103 goals with 516 assists for 619 points. His career-high in points came only a few seasons ago with the Panthers when he tallied 62 points in 82 games.
While he wasn’t the flashiest of players, he was unbelievably durable. Last season with the Flyers, Yandle broke the NHL’s ironman streak when he played in his 965th consecutive game.
His streak ultimately reached a mind-blowing 989 games, making him one of the most reliable players in NHL history.
Without question, all three of these players will be missed in the NHL, but we can’t ask for much more than what they’ve given us over the last couple of decades.