Andrew Ladd is hanging up his skates.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion and former Winnipeg Jets captain announced his retirement from the NHL on social media Sunday.
Ladd last played with the Arizona Coyotes during 2021-22 and spent this past season on the injured reserve after failing a physical following knee surgery.
“The time has come for my next chapter,” Ladd wrote. “When I was a kid I never thought I had a chance to make a living playing hockey.
“There was my love for the game. I loved being a part of a team, I loved competing, I loved the next chance to win, I loved the challenge, I loved the escape of immersing myself in the moment, I loved the feeling of belonging, I loved the confidence it gave me, I loved proving people wrong.”
The 37-year-old Ladd finishes his career having played 1,001 games with 256 goals and 550 points over 16 seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, Jets, New York Islanders and Coyotes.
Ladd was drafted fourth overall by Carolina in 2004 and captured the Stanley Cup during his rookie season with the Hurricanes in 2006. He earned his second Stanley Cup title with the Blackhawks in 2010.
After he was traded to the Thrashers, Ladd was named team captain on Nov. 10, 2010, and continued to wear the “C” when the franchise relocated the following year to Winnipeg. Ladd served as captain of the Jets until February 2016 when he was traded back to Chicago.
The Maple Ridge, B.C., native also represented Canada four times on the international stage and won gold at the 2005 World Junior Championship.
“I’ll be forever grateful for how the game shaped me as [a] person and the people it brought into my life,” Ladd wrote.
