The early part of this summer has seen several players, and one coach, announce their retirement. Some had distinguished IIHF careers; some were more NHL-oriented; and, some were here, there, and everywhere. But they all played the greatest game on ice and gave it their all. Here is a summary of those recent departures from the game.

Anze Kopitar played his final NHL games in 2025-26 before retiring. He is, without any question, the greatest Slovenian player of all time, and his resume is remarkable no matter his country of origin. He played 20 seasons with the LA Kings, the last ten as captain. He won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012 and 2014 and was long considered one of the best two-way players in the league. Kopitar retired having played 1,521 regular-season games and recorded 1,316 points. Internationally, he represented Slovenia many times, notably at the 2014 Olympics, four World Championships, and the 2016 World Cup, with Team Europe. He is destined for both the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and the IIHF Hall of Fame.

The 41-year-old Frenchman Pierre-Edouard Bellemare capped off a sensational career by playing in the 2026 Olympics, his first. He appeared in 12 World Championships and was a teammate of Kopitar’s on Team Europe in 2016. In the NHL, Bellemare played 700 games with five teams, most notably in 2021-22 with Tampa Bay as the Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to Colorado in six games.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick played at the 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup with the United States, but his greater glory came in the NHL. His 19 seasons ranks tied for 7th overall, and his 829 games is 12th. He won the Stanley Cup three times—in 2012 and 2014 with Kopitar in L.A., and in 2023 with Vegas. In 2012, Quick was also named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, and he won the William Jennings Trophy twice, in 2014 and 2018. 



Trevor Lewis was another member of Los Angeles’s two Cup victories in 2012 and 2014. He also won two bronze medals for the U.S. in IIHF competition, first at the 2007 World Juniors and later at the 2015 World Championship in Prague. He was drafted 17th overall by Los Angeles in 2006. Over 17 NHL seasons with three teams (including two stints with the Kings), he played in 1,034 games.

Max McCormick was drafted 171st overall by Ottawa in 2011. He then attended Ohio State University for three years before turning pro, first in the AHL with Binghamton and then the NHL Senators. He later played for Carolina and Seattle, but his career was cut short by a hip injury. In all, he played 94 NHL games over an 11-year pro career spent mostly in the minors.

Milan Lucic played his one and only IIHF tournament with Team Canada in 2023 at the age of 34, helping Canada win gold at the World Championship. For the most part, though, he was known as a power forward. In 17 NHL seasons, his highlight came in 2010-11 when he was on Boston’s Stanley Cup team. He had six, 20-goal seasons during his NHL career before retiring in 2024. After a year off, he made a comeback, and although he played some games in the minors last year, he never made it back to the NHL. 



Aaron Ness was a 2nd-round draft choice by the Islanders in 2008 shortly after he helped the U.S. win gold at the U18 tournament. He also played for the Americans at the non-NHL Olympics in Beijing in 2022 when the team finished 5th. Ness also played for Washington and Arizona, but it all amounted to just 72 NHL games. He was far more accomplished in the AHL, where he played 14 seasons and won consecutive Calder Cup championships with the Hershey Bears in 2023 and 2024. 

Korbinian Holzer is one of German hockey’s best-known players of the last two decades. The 38-year-old played at two U18 events and the 2007 World Juniors as a teenager. He later represented Germany at two Olympics (2010 and 2022) as well as seven World Championships. Drafted by the Maple Leafs, he played for more than a decade in the NHL and AHL before finishing his career back in Germany.

Linus Omark didn’t play in the 2025-26 season but announced his retirement this past April. He ended his career where it began, with Lulea, but he also played 79 games in the NHL and several years in the KHL. Omark helped Tre Kronor win gold at the 2017 World Championship, and he also won bronze medals at the 2009 and 2010 WM. He also played at the 2018 Olympics.



Goalie Jack Campbell had a sensational career with Team USA, notably at the junior level. He won back-to-back gold medals with the U18 team in 2009 and 2010 and was named IIHF Directorate Best Goalie in the latter. At the World Juniors, he won gold also in 2010 and bronze a year later, and at the senior Men’s Worlds he won a bronze in 2015. In nine NHL seasons, he played for three teams, notably Toronto where he had a great 2021-22 season, posting a 31-9-6 record. Although he hadn’t played in the NHL the past two seasons, it was only last week that he announced his retirement.

Coach Bob Hartley just announced his retirement after leading Yaroslavl to the Gagarin Cup. Few men have a resume like Hartley. The 65-year-old has won championships in three countries—the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2000-01; the NLA championship with Zurich in 2011-12; and the Gagarin Cup this past season and in 2020-21 with Omsk. He also coached the Latvian national team at five World Championships between 2017 and 2022. 

Jonathan Toews also announced his retirement following the 2025/26 season. You can read more about it in this article.