LATEST | 12-year NHL veteran to retire due to injury
After sitting out during the 2022-23 season due to injury issues, 34-year-old forward Paul Byron is set to retire from the National Hockey League after parts of 12 seasons.
Byron last suited up in the NHL on April 19th, 2022 against the Minnesota Wild and would only appear in 27 games that season after undergoing hip surgery following the Stanley Cup Final in July 2021.
Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes confirmed the news to the media on Tuesday afternoon and went on to add that they'll be sitting down with Byron in September to discuss the possibility of him working for the organization in some capacity.
The Ottawa, Ontario native was drafted in 2007 by the Buffalo Sabres. Byron bounced up and down between the NHL and AHL with Buffalo and Calgary, before being claimed off waivers by the Canadiens ahead of the 2015-16 season.
Montreal's claim of Paul Byron might be one of the best waiver pick-ups in NHL history as he went on to record back-to-back 20+ goal seasons with the team in 2016-17 and 2017-18. During the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Byron scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 in the first round against Toronto to help the Canadiens take a 1-0 series lead.
Congratulations to Paul Byron on a lengthy professional hockey career and all the best in retirement!
