Two-time Stanley Cup winner Kris Versteeg has announced his retirement after 11 years in the NHL, highlighted by his 2010 and 2015 championships with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The 33-year-old winger started the 2019-20 season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs before departing for HK Nitra of the Slovak Extraliga to play with his brother, Mitch. His final NHL game was with the Calgary Flames on March 18, 2018.
Over the course of 643 regular-season games in the NHL, the native of Lethbridge, Alta., racked up 358 points, adding 48 over the course of 93 post-season appearances.
Versteeg also suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Philadephia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings, but his most memorable years were in Chicago.
The 2004 fifth-round pick of the Boston Bruins was traded to the Blackhawks midway through the 2007-08 season for Brandon Bochenski, making his debut down the stretch for Chicago.
The following season, Versteeg broke out for 53 points in 78 games, good for fourth on the Blackhawks and earning him a third-place finish in Calder Trophy voting.
In ’09-10, Versteeg’s regular-season totals dropped to 44 points in 79 games, but he added 14 — including two game-winning goals — in 22 post-season matches as the Blackhawks won their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history and first since 1961.
“I want to thank the Chicago Blackhawks’ entire organization, from top to bottom, especially including the fans. The 2010 championship was the highlight of my career,” Versteeg said in a press release.
In the face of a cap crunch, the Blackhawks dealt Versteeg to the Maple Leafs in the 2010 off-season. He put up 35 points in 53 games before being sent to the Flyers and finishing the season with 46 in 80 games.
A 2011 off-season trade reunited him with Dale Tallon in Florida, and Versteeg rewarded the general manager with career-highs in goals (23) and points (54).
“There was one guy who took a kid with a different personality and a massive chip on his shoulder and helped give him hope, and that was Scott Gordon,” Versteeg said of his first minor pro coach. “Dale Tallon also took a chance on me and gave me multiple opportunities throughout my career.
“I know I wasn’t always the easiest to deal with. Without people like Scott and Dale, the road to today would not be what it was.
“Thank you to every organization I was able to play for. I didn’t realize it then, but I certainly appreciate now how amazing it was to play in the NHL.”
Versteeg was shipped back to Chicago after a 2013-14 trade. There he spent two more seasons with the Blackhawks and captured his second Cup in ’14-15. But his best years were behind him, never topping 38 points after his career-best, 2011-12 campaign.
To wrap up his NHL career, Versteeg joined his hometown Flames as a free agent in the fall of 2016, putting up 45 points over the course of two seasons — the second of which was marred by hip surgery.
“I also want to thank Brad Treliving for letting me come home to finish my NHL career. As a person and a GM, he made a huge impact on me,” said Versteeg.
Versteeg currently resides in Brooklin, Ont., with his wife, Brittany, and their three children.
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