Veteran D Sekera retires after 16 seasons
Published
Veteran defenceman Andrej Sekera is hanging up his skates after 16 NHL seasons.
The 36-year-old, who became an unrestricted free agent last week, announced his retirement in an interview with Slovakian newspaper SME on Monday.
"My hockey career is over," Sekera said, per NHL.com. "I've had some offers as a free agent, but still I decided to quit. A big reason was my son had had some medical issues during the last year. After everything we went through, I realized the best would be if I devoted more time to my family. I thought maybe it would turn around somehow, but that did not happen."
Sekera had one goal and four points in 32 games with the Dallas Stars last season, his third with the team.
A veteran of 842 games, Sekera posted 51 goals and 253 points over his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Stars.
The Bojnice, Slovakia was selected in the third round (71st overall) of the 2004 Draft by the Sabres.