After the Pittsburgh Penguins’ final game of the season ended on Wednesday night, former Philadelphia Flyers star Jeff Carter announced his retirement from the NHL after 19 memorable seasons in the league.
Carter, 39, just wrapped up his third full season as a Penguins player and was ironically eliminated from playoff contention with a Flyers loss on Tuesday. Carter finished this year with 11 goals, four assists, and 15 points, but did go out with a bang, scoring his final NHL goal in his final NHL game against the Islanders on Wednesday night.
“Pretty special moment to get one there at the end,” Carter said. “Something I’ll remember, for sure.”
Now retired, the former Flyers star says it’s time for family.
“I’m going to be a dad. You miss a lot being a hockey player. You’re in and out in a way,” Carter continued. “My family sacrificed a lot for me to live out my dream. I’m going to be home and be a dad and then figure it out from there.”
Carter’s retirement comes just days after another Flyers icon, Wayne Simmonds, was honored by the Orange and Black and signed a one-day contract to retire as a Flyer.
Carter spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Flyers, scoring 181 goals, 162 assists, and 343 points in 461 regular season games. The 39-year-old was also a huge part of the 2009-10 Flyers team that made a magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals, starring alongside players like Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, and others.
Later on, of course, Carter was traded to Columbus for Jakub Voracek and picks that became Flyers captain Sean Couturier and Florida forward Nick Cousins.
We’d like to wish Jeff and his family the best of luck with their new chapter in life and congratulate him for everything he achieved playing in the NHL, including the two Stanley Cups he won with Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014.
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