Former first-rounder Lauri Korpikoski announces his retirement

After a lengthy professional career that saw him spent nine seasons in the NHL, along with several in Europe, Lauri Korpikoski has decided to hang up the skates.

The 37-year-old didn't play this year due to an injury and was mulling over whether or not he was going to retire from professional hockey and has decided to do so after 19 seasons in the game.

The following is translated from Finnish.


Korpikoski, a native of Turku, Finland, was selected 19th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to appear in 609 career games in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets, where he tallied 201 points (86 goals, 115 assists) and 132 penalty minutes.

After the 2016-17 season, Korpisoski returned to Europe, where would spend the final six years of his career, the majority of which were with his hometown club, TPS Turku, who play in Finland's top division, Liiga.

Source - MTV Urheilu: Information from MTV Urheilu: Lauri Korpikoski's career is over