Riley Sheahan announces retirement after 12 NHL seasons

NHL veteran Riley Sheahan has announced his retirement after 12 seasons in the NHL which was discussed in a recent article by BP Sports Niagara’s Bill Potrecz.

Sheahan will be transitioning into coaching and development. Sheahan told BP Sports Niagara that he has found a new love with coaching and wants to pursue this new chapter of his life that he is enjoying.

“It was tough,” Sheahan giving back to the game | BP Sports Niagara. “You definitely associate yourself with a sport and your ego — you definitely get voices in your head saying, ‘I wish I could still be doing this.’ I feel debatably like I do have some juice left, but you kind of have to make the agreement what’s best for you and my family.”

The 32-year-old last played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2022-23 season before departing to Switzerland where he played for EHC Biel-Bienne in the Swiss National League. He tallied seven points in 12 games and added one assist in four NL playoff contests.

The Detroit Red Wings originally selected Sheahan in the first round (No. 21 overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. Sheahan spent three years at the University of Notre Dame. While with the Fighting Irish, he collected 20 goals and 64 points in 114 NCAA games.

The St. Catharine’s, Ontario native spent parts of seven seasons with the Red Wings, scoring the team’s last goal at Joe Louis Arena in 2017.

In 637 career NHL regular-season games with Detroit, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and Seattle Kraken, Sheahan scored 74 goals and 194 points. He’s added three goals and seven points in 33 career playoff contests.

Throughout his time in the AHL, Sheahan notched 26 goals and 61 points in 120 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Charlotte Checkers and Rochester Americans. During the 2012-13 campaign, Sheahan helped the Griffins win the Calder Cup.