Simon Gagne Announces Retirement From The National Hockey League

Simon Gagne is hanging up the skates.

“Today, I want to thank my trainers and teammates”, Gagne said in a statement. “Every evening, you energized me and inspired me to perform”.

You may think that in order to improve your fitness, you need to hit the gym hard and get your… I also wish to thank my fans. “The last month has been extremely hard for me with my father being sick and his passing”, Gagne went on to say, “To play in the National Hockey League, you have to be 100 percent mentally, emotionally, and physically committed to the game”.

That’s when Gagne turned the page on former Flyers GM Paul Holmgren reneging on a promise to re-sign him for the 2013-14 season.

Throughout his career Gagne was known as a clutch performer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring 37 goals and 59 points in 109 postseason games.

Gagne was traded back to Philadelphia from the Kings and finished up the 2012-13 season here. He and the Bruins opted to suspend Gagne mid-way through the season to make room on the roster to replace him, and when he decided to spend the rest of the year with his family, Boston terminated his contract altogether. In 90 career playoff games with the Flyers, he scored 32 goals and had 15 assists.

“Last year, I lost my father: my number 1 fan, my coach, my confidant, my best friend, and my top teammate”, Gagne wrote.

Gagne was selected by the Philadelpia Flyers in the first round of the 1998 entry draft, 22nd overall. He collected 264 goals and 535 points during his Flyers tenure – ranking ninth and 10th, respectively, in franchise history – and earned All-Star nods in 2001 and 2007.

“It was pretty neat”, Hextall said of Gagne winning the Cup. If you look at his career, the way he transitioned his game and the way the game has changed, he might be even a more valuable player now. “But he was a real impact player for us”.