Paul Kariya retires

[MacK_Attack 108]

At the age of 36 and after taking a full year away from the NHL to try and recover from the effects of multiple concussions, Paul Kariya retired Wednesday after a distinguished 15-year career.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/paul-kariya-announces-retirement/article2080412/

[Travis 576]

Great player. Always performed well against the Wings, which of course means I hated his guts.

Kudos on a great career, though.

[Hockey13Playa 240]

Good luck on your future Paul. He was an elite player in his mighty duck days with Temmu, sucks he's gotta go out due to injuries and concussions. Best of luck!

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

Shame... hate the concussion retirements.

[Jericho613 74]

Yeah he would have been great on the Wings and probably could have won a cup.

[jollymania 162]

Shame... hate the concussion retirements.

well in kariya's case it all started with hi not keeping his head up, so you can't feel too sorry for him, although that dick kaleta basically ended his career with a chepashot

[MacK_Attack 108]

well in kariya's case it all started with hi not keeping his head up, so you can't feel too sorry for him, although that dick kaleta basically ended his career with a chepashot

With Kariya, it all started with Gary Suter cross-checking him in the head.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

At one time, he was one my favorite non-Wings.

Then he went to Colorado, and that was the beginning of the end for him in my mind.

Should have never left Anaheim and bolted to the Divealanche with his boy Selanne. I obviously didn't cheer for him when he went to St Louis or Nashville either.

He did have a good career, though, and if not for injuries may have been a Hall of Fame player in the future.

[55fan 5,133]

My sister is distraught.

Despite his playing for teams I hate and all that, I liked the guy.

Best wishes for his future.

[Guest Shoreline]

I always enjoyed watching his shot, his pass, his finesse.

However, as mentioned he had trouble keeping his head up and dealing with the physical nature of the sport. He was never the same after getting clocked by Stevens. It wasn't the only time he got drilled but it was a slippery slope henceforth. He also developed a knack for diving, which also made me lose some respect for him, and by the time he went to St. Louis, to me he was a different player entirely.

Edited June 29, 2011 by Shoreline

[wingslogo19 281]

Sucks that he as to retire do to concussions but it's 100% the right move. Hope he is still involved in hockey in the near future

[evilzyme 769]

Sad to see him go but like everyone's said it's a smart move, he's been involved in one too many vicious situations. Best of luck in the future Paul.

[xtrememachine1 795]

Really hate to see this guy retire without getting his name on the Stanley Cup. He was a great player just had way too many injuries. I always liked him even though I hated all the teams he played for. I kept holding out, hoping he would make a comeback.

[13dangledangle 968]

Good decision for sure. Much respect for him, good luck Paul.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Good career, always wanted to see him on the Wings.

[Nev 1,085]

Good luck on your future Paul. He was an elite player in his mighty duck days with Temmu, sucks he's gotta go out due to injuries and concussions. Best of luck!

This. As the league got increasingly lower scoring, those two were magic together and put up some big numbers on a poor Ducks team.

[egroen 384]

At one time, he was one my favorite non-Wings.

Then he went to Colorado, and that was the beginning of the end for him in my mind.

Should have never left Anaheim and bolted to the Divealanche with his boy Selanne. I obviously didn't cheer for him when he went to St Louis or Nashville either.

He did have a good career, though, and if not for injuries may have been a Hall of Fame player in the future.

It's amazing how many of the deadpuck era forwards lost so much to injuries - Forsberg, Lindros, Bure, Kariya, etc...

The following are the top scorers from 1995 - 2004

http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=1995&year_max=2005&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=S&handed=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=points

Kariya is 7th. It will be interesting to see how many of these guys make it - as so many have more than worthy primes, but never hit the magical 500 goals 1,000 points mark.

Looking at a ten year span just prior:

http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=1984&year_max=1993&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=S&handed=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=points

Pretty much the Top 25 forwards are already in, or soon to be.

I don't think Kariya will look out of place in the HHoF, and unless the committee just decides to ignore his era, he's probably a lock.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

He was also one of only two skaters to be ranked 100 in my NHL 2000 game.

The others being Teemu Selanne and Jaromir Jagr.

[Hockey13Playa 240]

[winger30 20]

He and Selanne were always fun to watch on the ice too bad they had to play for such a lousy team.

[Hockey13Playa 240]

He and Selanne were always fun to watch on the ice too bad they had to play for such a lousy team.

The ducks weren't lousy near the end of there (Selanne & Karyia) time together in Anaheim. They went to game 7 of the SCF vs a powerhouse NJD team. s***, the swept the Red wings. I wouldn't call any team lousy that can sweep Detroit. I know in the early years of the Ducks existence though they were pretty bad lol. Good ol' days with Steve Rucchin, Guy Herbert and all them. Hah man I miss the 90's.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

The ducks weren't lousy near the end of there (Selanne & Karyia) time together in Anaheim. They went to game 7 of the SCF vs a powerhouse NJD team. s***, the swept the Red wings. I wouldn't call any team lousy that can sweep Detroit. I know in the early years of the Ducks existence though they were pretty bad lol. Good ol' days with Steve Rucchin, Guy Herbert and all them. Hah man I miss the 90's.

Selanne didn't play on the 2003 Ducks team. He was in San Jose that year.

And the only reason that team made the Finals was because of Giguere and his cheating, oversized pads. I was pulling for them against Jersey, but that team was a one hit wonder.

[stevieisthebest 80]

the dude still looks like hes 19

[PredsFanTheBayouState 263]

i was so excited on the day that i heard that paul kariya was going to be a nashville predator,the best present that i have gotten was a autograph paul kariya mustard preds jersey,it will forever hang in a shadow box on my bedroom wall.

[Nev 1,085]

It's amazing how many of the deadpuck era forwards lost so much to injuries - Forsberg, Lindros, Bure, Kariya, etc...

The following are the top scorers from 1995 - 2004

http://www.hockey-re...order_by=points

Kariya is 7th. It will be interesting to see how many of these guys make it - as so many have more than worthy primes, but never hit the magical 500 goals 1,000 points mark.

Looking at a ten year span just prior:

http://www.hockey-re...order_by=points

Pretty much the Top 25 forwards are already in, or soon to be.

I don't think Kariya will look out of place in the HHoF, and unless the committee just decides to ignore his era, he's probably a lock.

Great post! We're already seeing this effect as great players from this era like Bure and Lindros are being ignored for the HOF whilst guys who played through the 80s and had long careers get in (I'm looking at you Dino Cicarrelli)