One of the better hockey players of all time brought his career to an end Tuesday, as Owen Nolan has retired. Now, your first thought may be, "Owen Nolan wasn't already retired?" which isn't all that unreasonable. Nolan hasn't played in the NHL since the 2009-2010 season, when he was with the Minnesota Wild. After that, he played in Zurich, but now his playing days are done for good.
Nolan was the first overall pick in the 1990 NHL Draft. He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, to give you a sense of just how long ago that was. He was with the Nordiques for five seasons, and was briefly with them when they became the Colorado Avalanche, before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks. San Jose was where Nolan had his greatest success, playing most of eight seasons there. He became their captain, and had his best year, scoring 44 goals and 84 points in the 1999-2000 season.
He was then traded to Toronto at the trade deadline in the 2002-2003 season. He stayed then one more season, then spent a year in Phoenix, a year in Calgary, and two seasons in Minnesota, where his NHL career ended with 16 goals and 33 points in 73 games.
Nolan played 1,200 games, scoring 420 goals and 885 points. He also played 65 playoff games, scoring 21 goals and 40 points. He never won a Stanley Cup, but he does have an Olympic gold medal from the 2002 games. Nolan also played in five All-Star Games. You may remember when he called his shot on Dominik Hasek to complete a hat trick in San Jose.
Owen Nolan likely won't make the Hall of Fame, even though he is 71st in career goals and 100th in career points. He is, however, 53rd in adjusted goals and 83 in adjusted points. Maybe Nolan will make it, but it wouldn't be an injustice if he didn't. Regardless, he had a great career, and is a player that will be remembered. He'll likely have his number retired in San Jose. Plus, if nothing else, he's the best hockey player ever born in Northern Ireland. Congratulations to Owen Nolan on a great career.
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