Dan Boyle announces retirement after 1,093 NHL games

Dan Boyle has announced his retirement after scoring 163 goals and 605 points over 1,093 NHL games with four teams.

“I’ve been fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to do what I most love to do,” Boyle said in a statement. “All I wanted to do as a young boy was have the opportunity to play ONE game in the NHL. Over a thousand games later, this whole experience seems surreal. I want to thank all four organizations for the opportunity, my teammates and the FANS for this amazing run that I will cherish forever.”

Boyle also has a place in NHL history as one of four defensemen to to lead two different franchises in scoring.

Undrafted out of Miami University, Boyle signed with the Florida Panthers in 1998 and spent some time in the minors before making his NHL debut during the 1998-99 season. It took a couple of years, but he was a regular in their lineup beginning in 2000-01.

In January 2002, Boyle was dealt north to the Tampa Bay Lightning where he would record 20 points in 41 games, earning himself a one-year extension.

The following season we would begin to see the Boyle that we will remember. His offense took off with him scoring 13 goals and recording 53 points, which was fifth best among all NHL defensemen that year. One postseason later he would lift the Stanley Cup with the Lightning, the only time he would do so in his career.

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After the 2004-05 lockout, Boyle would play three more seasons in Tampa before being dealt to the San Jose Sharks months after he signed a six-year extension. The Lightning owners at the time (remember OK Hockey?) asked him to waive his no-trade clause or else he would likely be placed on waivers.

“I don’t have the nicest things to say about what happened, but I don’t want to dwell on this,” Boyle told ESPN.com in 2008. “I was misled and disrespected, and it was really not the right way to do a lot of things. I don’t have anything good to say about how all this went down.”

Boyle would continue to be one the league’s top offensive blue liners and his play earned him a spot on the gold medal winning Canadian Olympic team in 2010.

Months after international success, Boyle scored one of his most memorable goals. Unfortunately for the Sharks it was an own goal, which came in overtime during Game 3 of their playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche.

Boyle mentioned this goal at his press conference Wednesday and jokingly said to Evgeni Nabokov, who was in attendance, “Nabby, you gotta hug that post, bro.”

San Jose would go on to win the final three games of the series as they marched to the Western Conference Final. Boyle would finish second on the Sharks in scoring that spring finishing with two goals and 14 points.

But that was just one blooper. There were many great highlights in Boyle’s career that showcased his skill, like this coast-to-coast goal against the Minnesota Wild in 2013:

The New York Islanders acquired Boyle’s rights in 2015, but after failing to sign, he went across town and inked a deal with the New York Rangers where he would spend the final two seasons of his career before going out with a bang and telling off Larry Brooks.

Boyle said that he will stay in the San Jose area with his family. Probably a good bet he joins former Sharks like Evgeni Nabokov and Mike Ricci in an executive role of some sort in the future. Just keep him away from any movie usher jobs.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy