Paul Stastny, who collected more than 800 points in his 1,145-game NHL career with the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, announced his retirement from professional hockey on Tuesday.
Stastny, 37, spent the 2022–23 season with the Hurricanes, racking up nine goals and 22 points in 73 games. He added four points (all goals) in 15 playoff contests as the Hurricanes made it to the Eastern Conference Final.
The younger son of former Quebec Nordiques star Peter Stastny, Paul was born in Canada but represented the United States in international competition. He played for Team USA at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal for his efforts in Vancouver.
Stastny never reached the Stanley Cup Final during his career, but he reached the Conference Final with the 2016 Blues, the 2018 Jets, the 2020 Golden Knights and the 2023 Hurricanes. He recorded 30 goals and 73 points in 118 career playoff games.
The Avalanche originally selected Stastny in the second round (No. 44 overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft, bringing him into the same organization his father played for before its relocation from Quebec City to Denver.
Stastny spent two years at the University of Denver before making his NHL debut with the Avalanche in 2006–07. He burst onto the scene with 28 goals and 78 points in his rookie season, enough to finish second behind Evgeni Malkin in Calder Trophy balloting.
After eight successful seasons in Colorado, Stastny signed with the Central Division rival St. Louis Blues in the 2014 offseason. He never quite reached the same offensive heights with the Blues, topping out with 49 points in 2015–16, but he did enjoy far more playoff success than in Colorado.
The Blues traded Stastny to the Jets ahead of the 2018 deadline. After collecting 15 points in 17 playoff games with the Jets that year, Stastny signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he made another deep playoff run in 2020. Immediately thereafter, Vegas traded Stastny back to Winnipeg, where he remained for two more seasons.
In all, Stastny managed 293 goals and 822 points in 1,145 career NHL games over 17 full seasons. He told The Athletic‘s Pierre LeBrun on Tuesday that he has an eye on remaining active in the hockey world in retirement.
“I don’t want to do coaching, that’s for sure,” Stastny said. “Maybe something with management […] If the right opportunity comes up with the right people and the right fit or situation, then I would for sure be interested.”
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