Former Rangers Goalie Retires After 17 Seasons

Veteran goaltender Jaroslav Halak is retiring from professional hockey after 17 seasons, announcing the news in an interview with Slovak reporter Tomas Prokop of Dennik Sport. He last played in the NHL with the New York Rangers in 2022-23.

Halak, 40, also signed with the Carolina Hurricanes on a professional tryout basis early in the 2023-24 season, but did not see any game action. In February of 2024, he then signed a one-year deal with Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga, who he originally played with prior to entering the NHL, but did not appear in a single game for the club.

Now, more than two years afer his last professional game, Halak is hanging up his skates for good.

"I'm done," Halak told Prokop. "I'll never put on the pads again."

Throughout his 17-year career, Halak played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers. He finishes his career with a .915 save percentage, a 2.50 goals against average and a 295-189-69 record in 581 appearances (539 starts). He also won the William M. Jennings Trophy twice, first with the Blues in 2011-12 (alongside Brian Elliott) and then with the Bruins in 2019-20 (alongside Tuukka Rask).

Perhaps Halak's most impressive NHL moment came with Montreal in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After earning the starting job over Carey Price, Halak then helped the Canadiens knock off the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals in a stunning first-round upset, overcoming a 3-1 series deficit in the process. He then helped the Canadiens upset the defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins, also in seven games, in the second round.

Now, Halak's focus is on his family, though that may draw him back to the ice sooner rather than later.

“Since my son Nathan has been a goalie for three years, I’ve been focusing on him,” Halak said. “This year, my older daughter Inna joined him. Since January, she’s been trying to be a goalie as well.”