Matt Cullen retires from the NHL after 21 seasons

One of the oldest active NHL players has decided to retire.

Veteran forward Matt Cullen announced Wednesday that he is riding off into the sunset and calling it quits after 21 seasons in the NHL.

“I’ve been in a constant state of almost-retirement for the last few years. But coming into this last season, I knew that no matter what it would be the end. Even if we had won the Cup I would have been done. Playing those last few years really gave me the clarity to know this was it.” wrote Cullen in a statement released by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It was an emotional time, but I knew it was coming. It just felt right and I was really at peace with everything when it was over.”

The 42-year old, who was selected 35th overall in the 1996 NHL Draft, compiled 285 goals, 504 assists, 624 penalty minutes and a minus-31 rating over a span of 1,566 regular season games and 53 playoff games split between eight different franchises: most notably the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Penguins.

He never made an All-Star appearance, but managed to win three Stanley Cups with two different teams throughout his career (2006 with Hurricanes, 2016 and 2017 with Penguins).