Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Brandon Sutter formally retired following a 13-year career in the NHL.
Sutter, 34, had not played during the previous two seasons as a result of suffering from the lingering effects of covid-19, or “long covid,” and was attempting a comeback with the Edmonton Oilers.
Attending the Oilers’ training camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO), Sutter announced his retirement through that team Sunday.
“You need to be 100% healthy to compete in the NHL, and although my health continues to improve, in consideration of my health and family, I am officially retiring from hockey,” Sutter said in a statement. “Thank you to the Oilers, Canucks, Penguins and Hurricanes, as well as all my past coaches, trainers and teammates for the incredible experiences throughout my 13 seasons in the NHL.”
A first-round pick (No. 11 overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2007, Sutter came to the Penguins during the 2012 NHL Draft when the Penguins dealt former third-line center Jordan Staal to Carolina in exchange for Sutter, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and the eighth overall pick in that draft, which the Penguins used to select defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
A member of the famed Sutter family, the right-hander primarily inhabited Staal’s former role as the Penguins’ No. 3 center during his three seasons with the Penguins. Appearing in 209 of a possible 212 regular season games with the Penguins, Sutter recorded 78 points while averaging 16:31 of ice time per contest.
Perhaps his most notable moment with the franchise came in the regular season finale of the 2014-15 campaign. With the struggling Penguins needing a win to qualify for the playoffs against a tanking Buffalo Sabres, Sutter scored each goal in a 2-0 road win, April 11, 2015.
A little more than 10 weeks later, the Penguins traded Sutter and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Nick Bonino, defenseman Adam Clendening and a second-round pick (No 55 overall) in 2016 that was eventually used to select goaltender Filip Gustavsson.
After spending six seasons with the Canucks, Sutter sat out the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons due to covid-19.
In 770 career games, Sutter scored 289 points (152 goals, 137 assists).
