Veteran NHL defenseman Eric Gryba announced his retirement Sunday in a video posted to his Twitter account.
"Hey, guys, I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I am retiring from professional hockey," Gryba said. "It’s been a lot of great years and a lot of great memories, but the body is starting to fail a little bit and I feel it’s just time to move on to the next chapter of my life.”
The Saskatoon, Sask., native signed a professional tryout with the Flames prior to training camp, but the club released him on Sept. 20.
I’m hanging up the skates! I am proud of the career I was able to put together and couldn’t be more grateful of all the support I received along the way. I am excited for my next chapter and all the challenges that are to come. Now let’s hunt!#timetohunt #nextchapter #retirement pic.twitter.com/kUrLSe8o7U
— Eric Gryba (@grybes02) September 23, 2019
The 31-year-old Gryba was a third-round draft pick of the Senators in 2006 and played in parts of seven seasons for the Senators, Oilers and Devils. Gryba split time during the 2018-19 season between New Jersey's NHL and AHL clubs and skated in just 10 big-league contests. He scored seven goals and added 36 assists over 289 career games.
After spending so much time inside ice rinks and hockey arenas, Gryba said he will turn to an outdoor hobby in retirement.
“Everything's got to come to an end," Gryba said in the video, "and now I'm excited to do a lot more hunting, so follow along. It’s going to be fun.”