Former Rangers forward Carl Hagelin announced he was retiring on Wednesday after 11 seasons in the NHL due to an eye injury.
He was struck in the eye with a stick during a Capitals practice on March 1, 2022, and the team expressed concern for Hagelin’s quality of life outside of the sport.
The forward also underwent two hip surgeries last year as he did not suit up in any games.
“I’m extremely grateful for all the memories hockey has given me and I’ve loved every single day of it,” Hagelin wrote in an Instagram post. “I’m gonna miss going to battle with my teammates on a daily basis, I’m gonna miss the ups and downs of a season. Nothing excites me more than stepping on the ice in front of 20,000 passionate fans.”
Hagelin appeared in 854 regular season and playoff games over 11 seasons, with stops in New York, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington.
He won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 with the Penguins.
Hagelin was drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2007 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut on Nov. 25, 2011, against the Capitals, where he spent his final four seasons in the league.
“I want to thank all my amazing teammates, coaches, Doctors and other staff members that I’ve met and played with throughout the years,” Hagelin said. “Lastly, I want to thank my family, my wife and my kids for all their support.
“They made it possible for me to live out my dream.”
In four seasons with the Rangers, Hagelin appeared in 266 games, recording 58 goals and 72 assists.
He recorded one hat trick in his career, a three-goal effort in a Rangers win over the Jets on March 14, 2014.
In 2015, he scored the series-clinching goal in Game 5 of the Rangers’ opening-round series victory against the Penguins.
The Rangers traded Haglin and a second-round pick to the Ducks in 2015 for Emerson Etem and two draft picks.
The Rangers made the Stanley Cup Playoffs all four seasons he was there, which included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 when the Blueshirts fell to the Kings.
Hagelin finished his career with 50 career playoff points in 141 postseason games.