Ryan Getzlaf is joining the NHL's department of player safety

The Anaheim Ducks are a franchise rich in history. They haven’t been great recently but before this bad stretch, they were one of the top organizations in the National Hockey League. 

Tons of great players came through during their run of dominance. One of those players is Ryan Getzlaf. He has a claim to be considered the greatest player in franchise history. At a minimum, he’s in the team photo. 

Getzlaf played in 1157 NHL games where he scored 282 goals and had 737 assists for 1019 points. His career year offensively came in 2008-09 when he had 25 goals and 66 assists for 91 points in 81 games played. 

On the flip side of the game, Getzlaf was a very good two-way center. He never won the Selke Trophy but he earned votes throughout his career, including a 10th place finish in 2013-14. He also came in second place for the Hart Trophy that year. 

Ryan Getzlaf deserves all of the praise he gets in his post-career days

The top moment of his career, however, has to be the end of the 2007 season which is when he won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks. He was a second-year player learning the way at that time but he was a very good contributor even back then. You also can’t forget the two Gold Medals he won with Canada at the Olympics.

For the duration of Getzlaf’s career, he was one of the top two-way players in the world. Whenever a team was playing Anaheim, they knew that they were going against one of the top two-way centers in the game. 

After the 2022 season came to an end, Getzlaf’s impressive 17-year NHL career came to an end. He spent every year with the Anaheim Ducks organization which was known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim when he first broke into the league. 

He more than lived up to being the 19th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft which is one of the best. Whether he eventually makes the Hall of Fame or not, it is certainly an NHL career to be proud of.

Now, as of last week, we learned of Getzlaf’s new adventure in life. He will be part of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety going forward. A player this decorated in the hockey world is perfect for a job like this. He will do a great job. 

Getzlaf knew what it was like to play a physical game in the NHL. He also had plenty of teammates (linemates, even) who toed the line when it came to how they played the game so he has seen it all. This will be a challenge for him but he’s up to the task.