Devante Smith-Pelly announces retirement from hockey after 11 seasons

Smith-Pelly announced his retirement with a post on his Instagram account:

“I have decided to end this chapter of my life and retire. 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 alongside 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.

I want to thank my first agency O2K for believing in me when they took me on as a client. Anaheim who drafted me, Montreal and New Jersey as well. And Washington. 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.

My family has been my rock through all the ups and downs my mother, father, and siblings have been my fiercest supporters. They’ve made the biggest sacrifices so that I could live out my dream. I can’t put into words how grateful I am for them.

Lastly thank you to Anthony and Chris Stewart, Wayne Simmonds, and Joel Ward. They lead the way for my generation and showed that it was possible to make it from where we are from. I hope I had the same impact to the young kids after me, as they did for me

I’m excited for my next chapter and the opportunities to come.“

A former second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2010, Smith-Pelly spent 10 seasons in both the NHL and AHL with the Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Los Angeles Kings organizations, as well as one season in the KHL in 2019-20 for the Kunlun Red Star. Smith-Pelly won a Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018.

While not the most productive player, Smith-Pelly did chip in every now and then, with 44 goals, 57 assists, and 101 points in 395 career NHL games, including a career-high 14 goals and 25 points in 71 games with the Canadiens and Devils in 2015-16. However, he’ll best be known for being productive when it mattered, as he had seven goals for the Caps on their Cup run in 2018, including three in the Cup Finals and the game-tying goal in Game 5, setting the stage for Lars Eller’s game-winner just two and a half minutes later to win the Cup.

Smith-Pelly also made history in 2021 with the Ontario Reign, where he played on a line with Quinton Byfield and Akil Thomas to form the first all-black line in professional hockey. That then led to the Tampa Bay Lightning following suit just a couple of months later by icing a line of Daniel Walcott, Mathieu Joseph, and Gemel Smith to create the first all-black line in NHL history.