Major surprise announcement from Devante Smith-Pelly

Published December 30, 2022 at 2:29 PM
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In the last few seconds, former Montreal Canadiens forward Devante Smith-Pelly took his fans by surprise and made a major announcement.

"Devante Smith-Pelly announces his retirement." - Renaud Lavoie

See his official release:

I have decided to end this chapter of my life and retire. I'm grateful for the opportunity to live out my dream of playing in the NHL. Throughout my career I've experienced the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. I was able to travel to places I never thought I'd see and played along side and against some of the best players in the world of hockey. I am so proud to say a kid from Scarborough Ontario leaves a Stanley Cup champion. I will be forever grateful for my experiences.


I want to thank my first agency O2K for believing in me when they took me on as a client. Anaheim who drafted me, Montreal and New Jersey as well. And Washington. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I will always be connected to my teammates, the fans and the city. We made history.

My family has been my rock through all the ups and downs my mother, father, and siblings have been my fiercest supporters. They've made biggest sacrifices so that I could live out my dream.I can't put into words how grateful I am for them.

Lastly thank you to Anthony and Chris Stewart, Wayne Simmonds, Joel Ward. They lead the way for my generation and showed that it was possible to make it from where we are from. I hope I had the same impact to the young kids after me, as they did for me

I'm excited for my next chapter and the opportunities to come.

Devo.


Smith-Pelly, 30, became a Montreal Canadiens player in February 2015, when he was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jiri Sekac.

He concluded his professional career with:

- 101 points and 44 goals, in 395 NHL regular season games

- 16 points and 13 goals in 51 NHL playoff games

- 137 penalty minutes.

He also had 8 points in 24 games in 2021-22 in his most recent stint with the Laval Rocket.

Congratulations for everything Devante, and we sincerely wish you the best for the future.

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December 30   |   175 answers
Major surprise announcement from Devante Smith-Pelly

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