Carl Hagelin, who played a pivotal role on back-to-back Pittsburgh Penguins championship teams in the mid-2010s, announced his retirement from professional hockey on Wednesday afternoon.
Hagelin, 35, shared the news of his retirement in a post on his Instagram account. The Swedish winger appeared in 713 career NHL games with five different teams, collecting 110 goals and 296 points.
Although he remained under contract with the Washington Capitals for the 2022–23 season, Hagelin missed all 82 games while recovering from eye and hip injuries.
“It’s been an amazing ride but it ends here. Unfortunately my eye injury is too severe to keep playing the game I love,” Hagelin wrote. “I’m extremely grateful for all the memories hockey has given me and I’ve loved every single day of it.
“I’m gonna miss going to battle w my teammates on a daily basis, I’m gonna miss the ups and downs of a season. Nothing excites me more than stepping on the ice in front of 20,000 passionate fans,” Hagelin continued. “I want to thank all my amazing teammates, coaches, Doctors and other staff members that I’ve met and played with throughout the years.
“Lastly, I want to thank my family, my wife and my kids for all their support. They made it possible for me to live out my dream.”
The Rangers originally selected Hagelin in the sixth round (No. 168 overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft. The 6-foot left wing made his debut with the Rangers in the 2011–12 season and immediately established himself as a regular, collecting 14 goals and 38 points in 64 games.
Hagelin spent four full seasons on Broadway, helping the Rangers make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks ahead of the 2015–16 season.
But after 43 unproductive games in Orange County, Hagelin found himself on the move to Pittsburgh in January 2016 in exchange for fellow underachiever David Perron.
Hagelin quickly found a second wind in Pittsburgh and finished the season with 27 points in 37 games after the trade. He added 16 points in 24 playoff contests as part of the stellar “HBK Line” with Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel as the Penguins captured their fourth Stanley Cup.
After helping the Penguins repeat as champions in 2017, Hagelin spent one more full season in Pittsburgh before being involved in two trades during the 2018–19 campaign. After struggling with both the Penguins and Los Angeles Kings in 2018–19, Hagelin arrived in Washington in February 2019 and rediscovered some of his offensive touch.
Hagelin spent parts of four seasons with the Capitals but was unable to help the team repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 2019 or get past the first round in the following years. He played his last NHL game with the Capitals on Feb. 28, 2022.
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