Former first-round pick officially retires from NHL after 10 seasons

Swiss winger Sven Baertschi has officially announced his retirement after a 10-season career in the NHL.

The news had been reported early on in August, but was made official Thursday by the NHL Alumni. Baertschi, 30, released a statement with his retirement, citing health reasons as to why he had to call it a career so early.

“Today I am announcing my retirement as a professional ice hockey player with mixed feelings. It’s a painful decision. Ice hockey is a sport that demands everything from the body. Like most players, I’ve had a number of injuries that are now taking their toll. After months of training, I realized that my body can no longer perform as well as I need it to. And playing with less than 100 percent, I can’t accept that.“

Baertschi retires after a 10-season career in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights. In 292 games during that span, he posted 66 goals, 72 assists, and 138 points.

Baertschi was a first round-draft pick for the Flames, going 13th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft. He spent parts of four seasons with the Flames, where he had eight goals, 20 assists, and 28 points in 66 contests.

After requesting a trade, Baertschi was dealt to the Canucks at the 2015 deadline for their 2015 second-round pick (which was then used to select defenseman Rasmus Andersson). In six seasons with the Canucks, Baertschi became an everyday NHLer, with 58 goals, 52 assists and 110 points in 225 games, including a career-high 18 goals, 17 assists, and 35 points in 68 games in 2016-17.

After his play declined and he spent the entirety of the 2020-21 season in the AHL with the Utica Comets, he signed a one-year deal with the Golden Knights and spent most of the 2021-22 season in the AHL, playing one game for the Golden Knights where he was held pointless.

Baertschi had spent the previous season in the National League in Switzerland with Bern SC, where he had four goals, 10 assists and 14 points in 36 games.