A great former Colorado Avalanche player calls it a career

Paul Stastny, who played for the Colorado Avalanche from 2006-2014, is hanging up the skates.

The NHL shared the news on social media that Stastny will call it a career after 17 years in the league with five teams, playing 1,145 games.

After 1,145 NHL games, Paul Stastny has decided to hang up the skates.

We wish you all the best in retirement! 👏 pic.twitter.com/dDjYxqfkFi

— NHL (@NHL) November 1, 2023

The Avs took Stastny in the second-round of the 2005 NHL Draft at No. 44 overall. He played his college hockey for the University of Denver Pioneers.

He immediately became a fan-favorite and started racking up the stats. Stastny finished his tenure in Colorado with 160 goals and 298 assists, good for 458 career points with the Avalanche. That puts him on the all-time franchise list near the likes of Valeri Kamensky (414 points), Matt Duchene (428 points) and Alex Tanguay (488 points).

For reference, the only current members of the team with more points for the Avs than Stastny are Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. That’s pretty good company to be in.

Stastny made the NHL All-Rookie Team with Colorado in 2006-07 and was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in 2011. He scored at least 20 goals in six of eight seasons with the Avalanche.

And while Stastny was here for the “lean years” of the franchise, making the playoffs just three times, he’ll forever be remembered as a solid player and even better guy. After leaving Colorado, he made stops in St. Louis, Winnipeg, Vegas and Carolina.

Stastny, who’s 37-years-old, recently sold his home in Denver. With plenty of free time coming up, we’ll see if he heads back. He’d certainly be welcome, and maybe even the Avs would like to have him around in some capacity.

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