Almost three years after he last played an NHL game, goalie Jaroslav Halak is calling it a career.
Halak, 40, is retiring from hockey with immediate effect, he told Tomas Prokop of Dennik Sport in his home country of Slovakia per a Friday morning social media post. The goalie spent 17 seasons in the NHL split between seven teams.
His last action came with the New York Rangers in 2023, when he went 10-9-5 with a 2.72 GAA and .903 save percentage in 25 games.
Halak twice won the William Jennings Trophy, an award given to goalies playing 25 games for the team that gives up the fewest goals in a season—capturing the award in 2012 with the St. Louis Blues and 2020 with the Boston Bruins.
However, he may be best known for his stint with the Montreal Canadiens. In 2010, he backstopped the Canadiens—the Eastern Conference's final playoff qualifer—to the Eastern Conference final. It proved to be his last ride with Montreal, who effectively chose goalie Carey Price over him in the offseason.
In addition to the aforementioned teams Halak saw time with the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. Internationally, he played for Slovakia in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Sochi, Russia, respectively.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Veteran Goalie Jaroslav Halák Announces Retirement From Hockey.
