Jean-Sebastien Dea Announces Retirement

According to an announcement on his Instagram, and shared by Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, forward Jean-Sébastien Dea has retired from professional hockey.

Dea, 32, began his professional playing career toward the end of the 2013-14 season. Then, after spending three years with the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Dea signed with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as an undrafted free agent.

For the next five seasons, that’s where Dea primarily remained. Through the 2018-19 season, the Laval, QC native scored 72 goals and 163 points in 287 games as an effective secondary contributor for the AHL Penguins.

Still, he didn’t go without a taste of NHL action. Dea appeared in nine games with Pittsburgh over that stretch, tallying two goals. In the 2018-19 season, Dea bounced between the Penguins and New Jersey Devils, being claimed each way on the waiver wire. In his brief stint with the Devils, Dea registered three goals and five points in 20 games.

After the 2018-19 campaign, Dea bounced around the league, joining the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and Arizona Coyotes organizations over the next four years. He enjoyed his best season in 2021-22, scoring 26 goals and 52 points in 70 games for his hometown team, the Laval Rocket.

Throughout the last four years, it’s been all overseas for Dea. He spent several years with the KHL’s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk before finishing out his career with the DEL’s Eisbären Berlin. He ends his career with 153 goals and 341 points in 517 AHL contests, and five goals and seven points in 37 NHL games.

We at PHR congratulate Dea on his professional career and wish him the best in his next chapter.