11/17/2009
One of the NHL’s all-time greatest snipers, Brendan Shanahan, announced his retirement Tuesday, bringing an end to his 21-year career. Shanahan thanked his family, all of his friends who helped him achieve his childhood dream, and all of the coaches and teammates he’s had the privilege of learning from and playing with throughout his career.
He finishes in 11th place on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list with 656 goals. He stands 11th in games played with 1,524, 22nd in penalty minutes with 2,489, 23rd in points with 1,354 and 49th in assists with 698. He is the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals and leads all NHL players with 17 “Gordie Howe” hat tricks. One of the game’s all-time clutch performers, Shanahan ranks fifth all-time with 109 game-winning goals. He tallied 237 goals on the power play, also fifth in NHL history, including a League-leading and career-best 20 in 1996-97.
The eight-time NHL All-Star recorded at least 40 goals in six of his 21 seasons and is one of only 11 players in NHL history to have 12 seasons of at least 30 goals. Shanahan’s 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons rank second to only Gordie Howe’s 21. He eclipsed the 50-goal mark on two occasions, tallying 51 in 71 games with St. Louis in 1992-93 and then reached a career high with 52 in 1993-94, when he also led the League with seven shorthanded tallies. Shanahan was voted to the NHL First All-Star Team twice (1994, 2000) and the NHL Second All-Star Team once (2002). Throughout his career, Shanahan was always one of the League’s top ambassadors. He was awarded the King Clancy Trophy in 2003 for his exemplary work in the community. Shanahan enjoyed his finest offensive season in 1993-94, when he established career-highs in goals (52), assists (50), points (102), penalty minutes (211) and shots (397).
Shanahan started his NHL career with New Jersey, but also spent time with St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit, and the Rangers in New York. He concluded his career with the team that originally drafted him, the New Jersey Devils, during the 2008-09 season.
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