Slovakian goaltender Jaroslav Halak officially announced his retirement on Friday after 17 years in the NHL.
The 40-year-old played for seven different teams throughout his career, beginning with Montreal where he spent four seasons. Most recently, Halak played 25 games for the New York Rangers during the 2022-23 season.
Halak played for the Bruins for three years from 2018-19 to 2020-21. Over that time the Slovakian started 83 games for Boston, collecting 49 wins and posting a 2.40 GAA.
For his career, Halak appeared in 581 NHL games and posted a record of 295-189-69. He finished with a .915 save percentage and 2.50 GAA.
In his career, he was named to one All-Star team in 2014-15 with the Islanders. Halak won the Jennings Award twice, once with the Bruins in 2018-19, and once with the St. Louis Blues in 2011-12.
According to an interview he conducted with Slovakian news outlet Dennik Sport, Halak tried to make a comeback with the Bruins. His interview was conducted in Slovakian and his quotes were translated to English by Google.
“Last year I still completed summer training. I wanted to go on the ice in Boston, but when nothing came of it, I told myself that it was pointless,” Halak said. “After that I didn’t even try anymore. I’m officially ending my career. I would like to thank my family, friends, fans and especially my wife Petra, who has been by my side my entire career.”
The main consideration for coming back was reaching the 300 win milestone for his career. Halak said that he found peace with his decision however, and where his final numbers stand.
“It’s been two years and I’ve come to terms with not reaching 300,” Halak said. “Looking back on my career, it’s been a good one. It would have been nicer with 300 wins, but I’ll be happy with 295.”
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