Report: Sharks' Roenick to retire

Jeremy Roenick is hanging up his skates.

According to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Roenick will announce his retirement as an NHL player Thursday at a press conference in San Jose, where Roenick played for the Sharks the last two seasons.

The Sharks have scheduled a press conference on Thursday at 11 a.m. PST, at which time Roenick is expected to announce his retirement. NHL Network will broadcast the press conference live beginning at 11 PST/2 ET. 

The outspoken Roenick leaves with 513 career goals, only the third American to crack 500 NHL goals, and 703 assists in 1,363 regular-season games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Sharks.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Roenick scored 53 goals and 69 assists in 154 games with the Blackhawks, Coyotes, Flyers and Sharks. Roenick was a star on the Chicago team that won the Presidents' Trophy in 1990-91 and went to the Stanley Cup Final a year later. He was also a key contributor on the Philadelphia team in 2004 that went to the Eastern Conference Final. He did not play on a Stanley Cup-winning team.

"I have been around for a long time and haven't won one and that's frustrating," Roenick told NHL.com prior to the 2009 playoffs. "It's nice to know people would be wishing me good faith and good luck in trying to get the Cup. That would make my career very, very complete knowing that I have that support behind me. So, yeah, I do wish for that. I do hope for that. It's very important to me. The fans are very important to me."

In June, while attending the 2009 NHL Awards, Roenick told NHL.com he was close to a final decision on his career.

"I don't have a total decision but I am leaning a certain way," Roenick, 39, said.

"My body is still in great shape," added Roenick. "The decision will be based on family and what (Sharks GM) Doug Wilson says."

Roenick came out of a short-lived retirement two summers ago to join the Sharks because of his relationship with Wilson and the hope he had for the team his buddy -- and former teammate in Chicago -- had built in San Jose.

Roenick doesn't think he would have come back to play for any other team.

"I knew San Jose was one of the elite teams in the last five or six years, and my agent and I attempted to get traded there a couple of times throughout my career knowing that Doug was there," Roenick said. "San Jose was always on my radar. My relationship with Doug is very special, so I don't think it could have happened anywhere else."

"All we did was give him the opportunity," Wilson told NHL.com. "He deserves all the credit for going and doing the work necessary to play in this League at this time. It's one thing to say you want to play, but to commit to it…You see how he plays with his passion. He's got skill, but he's got grit. He'll go around you. He'll go through you. He'll take a hit. He'll block a shot. I think that all relays to the fan in seeing a guy who truly loves to play the game."

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Comcast SportsNet Bay Area has an exclusive sit-down interview with Roenick on Chronicle Live on Thursday, August 6 at 5:00 p.m. PT.  Video excerpts will be available on www.csnbayarea.com.  Hosted by Greg Papa, Chronicle Live will replay later that night on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area at 9:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. and then on Comcast SportsNet California at midnight.  In Northern California, Chronicle Live is also available on Comcast Digital Cable’s ON DEMAND Channel 1.  Fans can watch Chronicle Live on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area nationally on DirecTV channel 696 and Dish Network channel 419.