Two-time Stanley Cup winner Carl Hagelin announces his retirement

After nearly fifteen years in the NHL, former Penguin winger and two-time Stanley Cup winner Carl Hagelin is hanging up his skates.

Hagelin, who won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 cited ongoing complications from an eye injury as the reason for his retirement.

Hagelin suffered a gruesome injury during a practice in March 2022 and hasn’t played a game since. The incident nearly led to the removal of his whole eye. Fortunately that was avoided, though he said afterwards that permanent damage to the eye had occurred. On top of that, Hagelin also endured a hip re-surfacing procedure last year that often proves to be a career-ender at the highest level.

The 35-year-old winger played a pivotal role for the Penguins in the back-to-back Stanley Cup runs as the ‘H’ in the infamous ‘HBK Line’ alongside Nick Bonino and Phil Kassel.

Hagelin joined the Penguins via a trade with the Anaheim Ducks in 2015 and spent time across four seasons with the team before being traded to the Kings and finding a landing spot with the Washington Capitals for several years.

Hagelin’s acqusition, at the time, along with players like Patric Hornqvist, helped re-shape the identity of the Penguins, on and off the ice, at a time when it was desperately needed.

It’s safe to say that Hagelin’s legacy with the Penguins lies with the two Stanley Cup Champions banners hanging high above the ice at PPG Paints Arena.