Former NHLer Taylor Pyatt has announced that he will retire from hockey after playing 859 NHL games split between the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He played for Geneve Servette in Switzerland last season.
Pyatt told TB News Watch, from his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, the news during the celebrity pro-am at the Staal Foundation Open at Whitewater Golf Course.
Pyatt said:
I had a few more injuries this year, a few more concussions. It’s just time for me to sort of step away. I’m proud of what I accomplished in my career, but now’s the time to take a little time away from the game.
His last NHL season was playing for the Penguins in 2013-14. Last season he was able to join younger brother Tom Pyatt playing for Geneve Servette. Tom played for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2013-14 and also exited the NHL that year.
On playing with his brother he told TB News Watch:
We never really had a chance to play together at all… There’s a six-year age difference. I left home when I was 16 to play and he was pretty young. So it was fun to be able to spend a lot of time with him, play on the same line, drive to practice every day together. I really enjoyed it.
Taylor Pyatt is a veteran of 859 NHL games, scoring 140 goals and 140 assists. He was originally a first round pick (eighth overall) for the New York Islanders.