P.K. Subban, star defenseman, announces NHL retirement after 13 seasons

P.K. Subban announced his retirement on Tuesday after playing 13 seasons in the NHL with the likes of the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils. Subban revealed “the end of this chapter” in a retirement post on his Twitter account.

“I never looked at myself or ever felt I was ‘just a hockey player.’ I always looked at myself as a person who happened to play hockey,” Subban wrote. “Having that perspective allowed me to enjoy every shift like it was my last, celebrate every goal with emotion, and play every game as if someone paid to watch me play who had never seen me play before….the NHL also provided me with a platform that allowed me to give back [through] my charities.

“A sincere thank you to the many players that I either played with or competed against who brought out the best in me.”

Subban registered 467 points (115 goals and 352 assists) in 834 career games during his 13-year career. He was originally selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 43 overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft. Making his NHL debut in 2010, Subban enjoyed seven stellar seasons in Montreal as he developed into one of the game’s top defensemen. 

During his time with the Canadiens, Subban recorded 63 goals and 215 assists in 434 games. The talented blue-liner won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman when he tallied 38 points (11 goals and 27 assists) during the 2012-13 campaign. In 2014, Subban signed an eight-year, $72 million contract extension that made him the league’s highest-paid defenseman at the time.

In June 2016, the Canadiens traded Subban to the Predators in exchange for fellow standout defenseman Shea Weber. Subban registered double-digit goals in each of his first two seasons with the Predators.

The three-time All-Star spent the next three seasons with the Predators before being traded to the Devils in 2019 on draft night. During his final three NHL seasons with the Devils, Subban tallied just 59 points (17 goals and 42 assists).