Longtime Colorado Avalanche sniper Milan Hejduk officially announced his retirement from professional hockey Monday.
Hejduk spent the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign with the Avs, putting up 11 points in 29 games, but was not offered a new contract last summer after becoming an unrestricted free agent.
In 1,020 career NHL regular-season games he accumulated 375 goals, 430 assists for 805 points and added another 76 points in 112 post-season appearances.
“I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates,” Hejduk stated in a press release. “I realized my lifelong dream of not only playing in the NHL but winning a Stanley Cup. My family and I are proud to call Denver home and are enjoying our time together.”
The right winger is a two-time Olympic medallist, helping lead his country to gold in Nagano in 1998 and to bronze in Torino in 2006. He is the third-highest-scoring native of the Czech Republic in NHL history behind only Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias.
“Milan was one of the most humble players I ever had the privilege of competing with,” former teammate and current Avalanche executive VP of hockey operations Joe Sakic said. “On the ice, he had one of the quickest and smoothest hands of any teammate I ever played with. His release, along with his hockey sense and vision, made him one of the premier goal scorers in the NHL during his prime. Milan was a true winner and would do anything he could to help our team win. He was a quiet leader who led by example and always represented this organization and himself with class.”
Drafted 87th overall in 1994, Hejduk spent his entire 14-year career with the Avalanche.
He became a Stanley Cup champion in 2000-01 and won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer in 2002–03 when he registered a career-best 50 goals and 98 points.
