NHL veteran Hamrlik retires after 20 seasons

Longtime NHL defenseman Roman Hamrlik announced his retirement on Monday.

Hamrlik, the No. 1 pick of the 1992 NHL Draft, played 20 seasons and appeared in 1,395 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers. He had 638 points on 155 goals and 483 assists and played in three NHL All-Star Games (1996, 1999, 2003).

The closest Hamrlik came to winning the Stanley Cup was 2010, when he got to the Eastern Conference Final with the Canadiens. He had three goals and 38 assists in 113 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Hamrlik also was a longtime player for the Czech national team and won an Olympic gold medal in 1998.

"I am grateful for all the support given to me during my hockey career," Hamrlik said in a statement released by the NHL Players Association. "I will always appreciate the opportunity to play in the greatest League of the world."

The expansion Lightning used their first draft pick to select Hamrlik. He played five and a half seasons with the Lightning and posted career highs in goals (16), assists (49) and points (65) in 1995-96.

Hamrlik was traded to the Oilers midway through the 1997-98 season and remained there through the 1999-2000 season, and then signed as a free agent with the Islanders in the summer of 2000.

Hamrlik played four seasons with the Islanders and matched his career high of 16 goals in 2000-01. He signed a two-year contract with the Calgary Flames in 2005.

He was in Calgary from 2005-07, but moved to Montreal after signing a four-year contract with the Canadiens in the summer of 2007. He played four seasons in Montreal, but did not return to the Canadiens in the summer of 2011, instead choosing to sign a two-year contract with the Capitals.

It would be Hamrlik's last NHL contract. He was waived last season and claimed by the Rangers. Hamrlik appeared in 12 regular-season games with the Rangers and another two in the playoffs.

"It has been a great honor, and a privilege, to spend 20 seasons playing in the greatest hockey League in the world," Hamrlik said in the statement. "I will always cherish the wonderful memories I have of my time spent in North America while playing the game I love, making sacrifices and pursuing my hockey dreams."