San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward lines up against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Glendale, Ariz on Feb. 18, 2017. Ward said he considers himself lucky to have played 726 career games after going undrafted and now wants to focus on being a dad to his 1-year-old son Robinson.Chris Carlson/The Associated Press
Long-time NHL forward Joel Ward announced his retirement on Monday.
The 39-year-old Ward last played in the NHL in 2018 for the San Jose Sharks. He went to training camp with Montreal in 2018-19 but was unable to get another shot and decided officially to end his career in an announcement on the Players’ Tribune.
Ward said he considers himself lucky to have played 726 career games after going undrafted and now wants to focus on being a dad to his one-year-old son, Robinson.
Ward started his career with Minnesota in the 2006-07 season and also played for Nashville, Washington and San Jose in his 11-year career.
He scored 133 goals and had 171 assists in the regular season. He had some of his best moments on the biggest stage of the playoffs.
He had seven goals and six assists in 12 games in the 2011 postseason for the Predators, scored a Game 7 overtime goal for Washington at Boston in the first round in 2012 and had seven goals and six assists in the 2016 postseason when he helped the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup final before losing to Pittsburgh.
Ward finished with 22 goals and 30 assists in 83 playoff games.
A Toronto native, Ward represented Canada at the 2014 world hockey championships in Belarus, putting up six goals and three assists in eight games.