Alex Stalock announces retirement at the age of 37

Last Thursday, the San Jose Sharks announced that goaltender Alex Stalock will join the Sharks Audio Network as one of the color commentators for the 2024-25 season. Effectively, Stalock announced his retirement from playing.

Stalock will rotate commentary duties with former NHLers Scott Hannan, Jamal Mayers, and Jason Demers, along with primary color analyst Drew Remenda. The gentlemen will work alongside the Sharks’ longtime radio voice, Dan Rusanowsky.

Rotating in a role is nothing new for Stalock. The veteran goaltender bounced around the NHL, going up and down between the big leagues and the American Hockey League since first turning pro in 2009.

The native of St. Paul, Minnesota was taken by the Sharks in the fourth round, 112th overall, of the 2005 NHL Draft, making his debut with the Sharks during the 2010-11 season. He never became a full-time backstop in the NHL until 2013-14, when he was the backup for Antti Niemi. Stalock spent over five seasons with the San Jose organization, before he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016, where he infamously played very little, as the team had him live out the final months of that season in a hotel room.

Stalock returned home that following summer, signing with the Minnesota Wild. He stood out as one of the best backups in the league, creating a solid tandem with Devyn Dubnyk. When Dubnyk’s play started to tail off, Stalock stepped up for the Wild, taking the reins in 2019-20, helping Minnesota squeak into the qualifying round of that year’s postseason.

Unfortunately, Myocarditis, which came from COVID-19 complications, kept Stalock out for the entire 2020-21 season, which was followed by the Edmonton Oilers claiming him off waivers in March 2021. He spent most of the 2021-22 season in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors but was traded back to San Jose before the trade deadline.

In 2022-23, he played 27 games for a Chicago Blackhawks team that finished second-to-last in the Western Conference, and went on to draft Connor Bedard first overall.

Stalock spent his final season with the San Diego Gulls, the primary affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, making 15 appearances, posting a record of 2-9-2 in the 2023-24 campaign.

In 13 NHL seasons, Stalock played in 179 games, posting a 46-22-6 record with a 2.70 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and 11 shutouts. He made eight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, coming away with a 1-4 record, a 2.54 GAA, a .910 SV%, and one shutout.

Stalock was also a standout at college, winning a WCHA championship with Minnesota-Duluth in 2009. That same season, he was named the conference’s best goaltender and a First-Team All-American.