Defenseman Gill retires after 16 NHL seasons

Defenseman Hal Gill, who played 16 NHL seasons and won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has announced his retirement.

Gill was an eighth-round pick (No. 207) of the Boston Bruins in the 1993 NHL Draft. He played 1,108 games for the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and Philadelphia Flyers.

"I am so thankful to have played for such great organizations," Gill said in a statement released by the NHL Players' Association. "I was lucky to have made amazing friendships throughout my career and live in so many beautiful cities. I would like to thank the fans for their support, the coaches for their direction, the team staffs for their efforts, and most of all my teammates for their camaraderie (and keeping me in line).

"Thank you as well to Global Hockey Consultants for their commitment to building my career, and to my family for staying strong through the lows and steady through the highs. I'm very excited for the next chapter of my life."

Gill finished his career playing six regular-season games and one Stanley Cup Playoff game for the Flyers in 2013-14. He had 36 goals, 184 points and 962 penalty minutes, and in 111 playoff games had six assists, a plus-2 rating and 68 penalty minutes.

He was part of the Penguins when they went to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009, and he got to the Eastern Conference Final with the Canadiens in 2010.

Gill, a native of Concord, Mass., played for the United States five times at the IIHF World Championship and won a bronze medal in 2004.