Aaron Dell announced his retirement from professional hockey Thursday.
The 36-year-old undrafted goalie played seven seasons in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres. He was 50-50-13 with a 2.92 goals-against average, .905 save percentage and five shutouts in 130 regular-season games (106 starts) and had a 3.08 GAA and .891 save percentage in four Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Dell last played in the League for the Sharks when he made 25 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center on Feb. 14, 2023. He played the remainder of his career in the American Hockey League and the ECHL, appearing in 10 games for San Jose of the AHL last season.
"After 13 seasons of professional hockey the time has come for me to hang up the skates and leave my playing days behind me," Dell said in an Instagram post. "I wanted to thank all of the people that believed in me and supported me throughout my career. Lots of ups and downs. An undrafted six-foot-tall goalie that was given a chance by the San Jose Sharks organization."
Dell, a native of Airdrie, Alberta, went 49-20-5 with a 2.15 GAA and .912 save percentage in three seasons at the University of North Dakota. He led the NCAA in wins (30) and GAA (1.79) as a sophomore and following his junior season was named MVP of the 2012 Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament. He signed with the Sharks on March 4, 2015, and won an NHL career-high 15 games in 2017-18. He started an NHL career-high 30 games for the Sharks in 2019-20 before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
"When I look at some of the names I had the privilege of working with like (Evgeni) Nabokov, (Joe) Thornton, (Joe) Pavelski, (Patrick) Marleau, (Logan) Couture, (Erik) Karlsson, (Brent) Burns and so many great players that I will always consider friends, I feel very fortunate," Dell said. "I want to thank all the on- and off-ice staff as well as my teammates that I've worked with throughout the past 13 years. I also want to thank the fans, but I mostly want to thank my wife Nicolette, who stood by me during this wild rollercoaster ride traveling all over the country so that I could continue to live my dream.
"I hope I've made an impact with some of the young players I've played with still chasing their dreams. Without the belief and support from my family, I wouldn't be here. I'm not sure what the future holds for me now, but my No. 1 priority will be being a father and a husband. Onto the next chapter."
