Derick Brassard Is Retiring

via Sportsnet, Derick Brassard announced his retirement from professional hockey on Sunday following 1,013 games played across 16 seasons in the National Hockey League. Brassard, 36, suited up for 10 different teams across his NHL career, with his latest and final destination being a return to the Ottawa Senators for a season after spending two years with the club earlier in his career. Accumulating 545 career points, Brassard enjoyed his best years offensively alongside the New York Rangers from 2013 to 2016. Brassard led the Rangers in post-season points during their 2013 playoff run and helped guide the team to the Stanley Cup Final a year later. Drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets sixth overall in 2006, Brassard spent six seasons with the club before moving on to the Rangers. Brassard was never able to latch onto a team for longer than two years after his departure from New York, with injuries a large obstacle in maintaining any form of consistency from year to year. The journeyman suffered a torn ligament in his ankle during the late stages of the 2023 season but was never able to recover to make a return. Brassard tallied over 68 career playoff points and was known by many of his peers as 'Big Game Brass' for his clutch-scoring prowess under the brightest lights.