Veteran Defenseman Derian Hatcher Retires

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday and was named player development coach of the Flyers. Hatcher missed all of the 2008-09 season with a knee injury he suffered last September. In 1045 NHL games, he scored 80 goals and 251 assists for 331 points and 1581 penalty minutes with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers. He won a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999. Throughout his NHL career, Hatcher was a very tough and physical defenseman who was also a great hitter. He could shutdown the opposition with his size and strength and was a good depth defenseman. Hatcher would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and likely would have been facing retirement anyway as he had slowed down a lot in recent years and could not keep up with some of the younger players. However, it's a shame to see him end his NHL career with an injury that forced him to sit out what would have been his final season.