15th year net minder Joel Martin(49) doesn’t know the word quit.
He’s appeared in games for no less than 16 teams across 7 different leagues, including only one overseas, Metal Ligaen.
The 6’2″ 185 lbs. goaltender even played 3 contests in 2003 for the old WCHL Bakersfield Condors after finishing up juniors in the WHL.
He enters his 9th season with the current ECHL Kalamazoo Wings and older versions of the IHL and 2 years in the UHL in his sophomore and third campaigns.
His 2o7 wins and 21 shutouts both leading stats in team history.
He’s suited up for one NHL game with New York Islanders but didn’t play.
The 35-year old when the new season starts is a pillar of persistence and endurance.
Whenever he decides to hang up the pads, he’ll become an amazing goalie coach.
12th year defenseman Olivier Magnan(2) signs on for a 6th year with Dornbirner EC of EBEL, a team he’s been with since 2012/2013, his second season away from North American hockey.
Originally a New Jersey Devils‘ 5th round pick in the 2006 draft (#148 overall), he spent the first five years of his pro career in their system, mostly playing games for Lowell Devils with one campaign with Albany Devils, when they moved before he was let go as an unrestricted free agent.
It was almost a bit ironic that he skated 18 NHL games in 2010/2011 before being released (0 points, -4 rating).
Maybe the thought was they didn’t want to go to arbitration or negotiate a new deal.
The big 6’2″ 201 lbs. blue liner left for Serie A joining Val Pusteria, where he posted his best scoring totals with 5 goals and 21 assists in 39 games.
At 31-years old, he has settled nicely into a place he’s comfortable and may just continue with the squad until he’s ready to return to Sherbrook, QC.
2017/2018 with be Boston Bruins‘ captain Zdeno Chara‘s 20th professional hockey season.
He is 40-years old.
It’s being reported the 6’9″ 250 lbs. Slovak wants to continue as his 7-year contract extension is set to expire.
Tough to say if the black ‘n gold keeps him in the fold.
His game has definitely not trailed off.
He still logs a ton of minutes as a punishing defender and scores a good amount of points to help out up front.
12th year net minder Anton Khudobin(35) with the nice save at Boston Bruins‘ captains’ practice.
12th year left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond(34) hangs up the gloves after a long career of battles.
He is credited with 188 fighting majors in 4 different leagues but only actually lead the AHL in penalty minutes one season, 2010/2011 with 334 playing for Albany Devils.
The 6′ 218 lbs. heavyweight has been under a big league contract for each of his pro seasons, except as a rookie (2005/2006), when he split time with Adirondack Frostbite and Albany River Rats.
He has 41 NHL games for Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames and most notably New Jersey Devils but spent most of his time playing 489 for a farm club recording an eye-popping 1820 minutes in the box.
The 32-year old must like that region of upper state New York and has quickly switched gears to doing real estate in the market.
3rd year defenseman Ted Billingsley(4) spent his first two campaigns with Brampton Beast scoring new career highs for goals (6), assists (21), points (27), shots on net (88) in 60 ECHL games through last season.
The 6’2″ 205 lbs. blue liner has decided to take his craft overseas joining Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL for 2017/2018.
Originally an Arizona Coyotes‘ 7th round draft pick in 2008 (#189 overall), he was never signed after playing 5 years of the OHL with Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and an overage year for Niagara IceDogs.
Left unsigned, he initially turned pro in 2011/2012 with Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League but after only 15 games decided to head off to Carleton University for 3.5 seasons.
The hard-hitting, tough to play against d-man will likely take his game to another level in England.
9th year veteran defenseman Steven Tarasuk(10) heads back over to Europe signing a 1-year deal with Saale Bulls Halle of DEL3 after putting up a career tied 7 goals and best 31 assists for 38 points with 139 shots on net in 67 games last season with Alaska Aces.
He’s skated with no less than 9 different ECHL teams appearing in 303 games and also appeared in the AHL and Central Hockey League.
The 27-year old has also played hockey in Poland and Italy and when he heads to Germany this season, it will be his 2nd visit.
He should do exceedingly well in this league, as he’s already played in DEL2 and done well.
Undrafted 3rd year left wing Kyle Just(29) finished last season with 6 DEL2 games for Lausitzer Füchse scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, then adding another three helpers in 3 playoff games.
Those totals were very much good enough for them to offer him a one-year deal to stay with the tier two German team for 2017/2018.
He initially left a decent campaign with Hungary’s top hockey Erste Liga, where he was skating with Fehérvári Titánok scoring more than a point-per-game (17-25-42 in 39).
This follow a tremendous rookie season for the 5’11” 190 lbs. forward with Tilburg Trappers.
His 18 point playoff performance would help them with the 2016 DEL3 Championship.
He was a very decent scorer through four years at Mercyhurst University.
With another strong showing, the 26-year old could continue to find himself playing at a higher level overseas.
4th year defenseman Gabriel Verpaelst(27) comes off a bit of an uneven season to sign an AHL contract with San Antonio Rampage for 2017/2018.
He played 8 games on a pto with Stockton Heat as a sophomore skater.
He played most of last campaign with his team of two years, Norfolk Admirals before a late trade to Utah Grizzlies, but was unable to come close to his career high 28 assists of 2015/2016 (12), although he did up his goal production by one to 7.
Maybe a bit unfortunately too, he added one fight to his totals and now has a new best 16 and 186 penalty minutes in 71 ECHL games.
He was a -20 rating that will need to be cleaned up some for him to stick in the higher league or be reassigned to affiliate Colorado Eagles but was on a team that struggled, which didn’t help that stat much.
We wish the soon-to-be 24-year old well in his new endeavor.
