2018 Stanley Cup champion Smith-Pelly announces retirement originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Eight-year NHL veteran and 2018 Stanley Cup champion Devante Smith-Pelly announced his retirement from professional hockey in an Instagram post. He played for four franchises including two seasons with the Capitals, last appearing in the NHL with Washington in 2019.
“I have decided to end this chapter of my life and retire,” Smith-Pelly wrote. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to live out my dream of playing in the NHL. Throughout my career I’ve experienced the lowest of lows to the highest of highs.
“I was able to travel to places I never thought I’d see and played along side and against some of the best players in the world of hockey. I am so proud to say a kid from Scarborough Ontario leaves a Stanley Cup champion. I will be forever grateful for my experiences.”
Smith-Pelly joined the Capitals on a league-minimum, one-year deal in 2017 and carved out a role as the right wing on their fourth line. He scored 16 points in 75 regular-season games before putting together a spectacular Stanley Cup run with seven goals across the Capitals’ 24 playoff games.
The last of those goals served as the game-tying tally in the decisive Game 5 of the Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights.
On his time with the Capitals, Smith-Pelly wrote, “It was the most amazing experience of my life. I will always be connected to my teammates, the fans and the city. We made history.”
He returned to Washington the following season and bounced back and forth between the Capitals and their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. Smith-Pelly then spent a year in Russia’s KHL before playing in the AHL each of the last two seasons.
The 30-year-old finishes his NHL career with 44 goals and 57 assists in 395 games for the Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils.
