Faceoff Factor

Roberts' Run Coming To An End

Matt Bodenschatz | National Hockey League

Dec 18, 02:52 PM | Hype this story!

Gary Roberts has seen and done it all in the NHL, which is precisely why the 42-year-old announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of this season.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt, I’m gone after this season,” Roberts said, according to TampaBay.com. “I’m going to retire. I’d like to finish on a good note. I’d like to come back and prove I can play and hopefully stay healthy enough to finish the season and finish playing a stretch of games and at least have some success. I’d like to finish on a high note.”

Roberts, currently on injured reserves with a lower body injury, has battled injuries this season just as he did much of last season, leading him to believe it is time to call it quits.

“When you’re hurt, you’re not as much part of it. Whether you’re a young guy or an older guy, that doesn’t change. I pay close attention to the game and I do learn a lot, even at 42 years old, I learn something watching the games, so I really tried to watch the games closely and get a feel for what I think I need to do to be successful. I still believe I can play. It’s just, will my body allow me the opportunity to show that I can play?”

In 1,213 career games, the left winger amassed 436 goals and 470 assists for 906 points. He also totaled an unsurprising 2,549 penalty minutes through his no intimidating style of play.

While Roberts has played in the All Star game three times and has been named a Second Team All Star twice, his biggest accomplishment came in 1989, when he won the first and only Stanley Cup of his career with the Calgary Flames.

Roberts joined the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline in 2006 and remained with the team through the 2007-08 season, which saw him come just two games from his second Stanley Cup.

During his time in Pittsburgh, he attained cult status unlike any other, and even had “Chuck Norris” jokes altered to fit his no-nonsense personalty and intense style of play.

Roberts surely will be missed, not only in the cities he has called home, but all across the NHL.