Philippe Boucher retires

(From the post I was tossing together before Hooksy said he had this one)

When Boucher came on board with the Penguins in November 2008 in a trade that sent Daryl Sydor back to Dallas, it was evident that the Pens wanted him on board for special teams duties. Unfortunately not even a month later Boucher missed six games with an undisclosed injury, the first of many stints that would leave him out of the lineup.

In January it became obvious that whatever injury plagued him in December was still bugging him, so much so that he was listed day-to-day and missed two games. It wouldn’t take long though before we all knew what that undisclosed injury really was, when on February 11 Boucher opted for left foot surgery that would leave him out of the lineup for 25 games.

He returned in good enough shape to play nine games in the playoffs, contributed one goal and three assists along the way.

I give the guy credit for knowing when to hang em up. It’s no secret that injuries were really starting to pile up at this stage in his career. His main concern was for just how long he would be able to get along without being in immense pain or re-injuring himself in the process of trying to win another championship, as likely or unlikely as it may be with whatever team showed interest in signing him.

It’s so sad that Boucher had to hang ‘em up, but I admire him so much for retiring after winning the Cup. I was a big Bouche fan when he was with Dallas, and I couldn’t be happier for him.

I can see coaching in his future, hopefully with Dallas.