Former Minnesota Wild defenceman Keith Ballard has reportedly decided to retire from hockey due to concussion-related problems.

It was a year ago that he was hit along the boards by New York Islanders forward Matt Martin, and was left convulsing after smashing his head off the dasher board and the ice.

In the days following, Ballard was diagnosed with three facial fractures and a concussion from which he still hasn't recovered. Speaking with Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune this week, Ballard let it be known that his NHL career is over.

"I didn't want to retire at this time, but with the bigger picture in mind, it was a no-brainer," Ballard told the Star Tribune. "You look at so many athletes and they struggle for so long and I don't want that to be me. I want to live a healthy life, be there for my wife and kids.”

Despite not playing hockey for a year, Ballard said he still experiences symptoms such as dizziness or fogginess when staring at a computer for extended lengths of time.

"The headaches aren't bad like they were," Ballard said in a phone interview. "The last time I had them really bad was in August. I didn't do any real physical activity in the summer other than going for walks, but nothing close to summer hockey training. One day, we were playing tag with the kids outside and I started getting real dizzy and bad headaches. I had to lay down and that seemed to trigger other things."

Ballard is now pursuing a degree in sports management at the University of Minnesota, where he won two consecutive NCAA championships from 2002-04 playing alongside future NHLers Jordan Leopold and Paul Martin.