Former Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron released a letter on Wednesday morning announcing his retirement from hockey.
The letter can be found here and was released by the team in English and French.
The forward missed all of last season, the final year of his contract, due to hip issues that required surgery and he couldn’t get back to the point where he was ready to play. He was an unrestricted free agent prior to the announcement, which was expected. He has worked with the team as a coach at development camp, and will continue in that role as a player development consultant.
As I reflect, it’s hard imagining how I went from playing Junior B hockey to being an assistant captain of the Montreal Canadiens. I still don’t quite understand, but through hard work, belief, dedication, and a very high competition level, I was able to achieve a career many people doubted from the time I was a young player. I’ve also been very fortunate to have had some amazing people help me out through my journey and I’d like to thank everyone who’s either helped me grow as player or as a person on and off the ice.
Byron, 34, played 521 career NHL games with 98 goals and 110 assists. He added five goals and six assists in 38 playoff games. He played 383 of those games with the Montreal Canadiens, who acquired him off of waivers from the Calgary Flames.
