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1000-Game NHL Veteran Officially Retires and Takes Over as Director of Player Development

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated May 15, 2025 3:31 PM ET

Sam Gagner had a long and solid career in the NHL, and just shortly after retirement, he's found himself a new role in the league with the Ottawa Senators.

The Ottawa Senators had one of their best seasons in recent memory in 2024/25, with the team making it to Game 6 of their first round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs not long after snapping an eight-year Stanley Cup Playoffs drought.

Moving forward, the team will look to build on this success as they aim to become a genuine Stanley Cup threat in the Eastern Conference, and now, they've made a very interesting move behind the scenes.

According to an announcement from the Senators, 1,000 game NHL forward Sam Gagner will take on the role of Director of Player Development with the team, officially ending his NHL career and kick-starting the second phase of his career in hockey.

Between 2007 and 2024, Gagner played in 1,043 games at the NHL level with Edmonton, Arizona, Philadelphia, Columbus, Vancouver, Detroit and Winnipeg, ending it with a 2024/25 run that saw him play in 19 games with the AHL's Belleville Senators.

Unsurprisingly, Senators fans are happy to have Gagner in the organization for a longer period of time, as he is one of the most experienced and respected players in the league, and now, he'll bring all of that to the young players he played alongside this year and in the coming seasons.

It's unfortunate that he was unable to have a retirement game at the NHL level with Ottawa or any other team in the NHL, but his one season with Belleville shows just how well this organization treated him, as he remains with them for the first step in life after the NHL for the 35-year old veteran.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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