Former Penguin defenseman Deryk Engelland announces retirement from the NHL

Deryk Engelland has announced that he is retiring from the National Hockey League.

Engelland, now 38-years-old previously spent 8 years in the Penguins organization.

Engelland would make his NHL debut in 2009 after spending six years in the minors with the Las Vegas Wranglers, the Lowell Lock Monsters, the South Carolina Stingrays, the Hershey Bears, the Reading Royals, and ultimately for a few years with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

His best season, statistically, with the Penguins was the 2011-12 season, when he would score 4 goals and 13 assists in 73 games.

Following the 2013-14 season, as the Penguins were undergoing organizational changes, Engelland became an unrestricted free agent and hit paydirt, receiving a 3-year, $8.7M contract from the Calgary Flames.

After finishing out the third year of his contract with Calgary, Engelland would be selected in the expansion draft to become a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.

During his time in Las Vegas, Engelland would win the Mark Messier Leadership Award. Engelland gave an emotional speech before a game, following the shooting in October 2017 that killed 60 people.

Engelland is not walking away from hockey altogether. He will transition to a role with the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, serving as the Special Assistant to owner Bill Foley.

Good luck to Deryk in his new role in the next chapter of his career in hockey.