Former Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals defenceman Brooks Orpik has announced his retirement from the NHL after a 15-year playing career. Orpik did miss 27 games last season with a lower-body injury. He was set to hit the market only July 1st after signing a one-year deal with the Caps last summer.
Brooks Orpik has announced his retirement today from the @NHL after 15 seasons. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion skated in 1,035 regular-season games.
Congratulations on a terrific career, Brooksie. And thank you for everything! #ALLCAPS
Read More: https://t.co/phJzewaMWB pic.twitter.com/rJYfMZfejw
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 25, 2019
Brooks Orpik Hangs up the Skates
Oprik spent the first 11 years of his career in Pittsburgh where he had 13 goals and 119 assists for 132 points in 703 games. He finished his career with 972 penalty minutes. His career possession numbers were 48.2 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of -3.4. In June of 2018, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche with Phillip Grubauer in exchange for a second-round pick. However, he was released the next day by the Av’s and signed with the Caps a week later. The San Francisco, California native would spend the next five years in Washington tallying up five goals and 57 assists for 62 points in 332 games. He would also serve as an alternate captain throughout his time with the Capitals.
He was a leader for younger players and was always a guy who was cracking the line-up most nights when healthy. Orpik was a shutdown defenceman who played a simple game at both ends.
Brooks Orpik Career Highlights
For Orpik, he won two Cups over his 15-year career. He won the Cup in 2009 with the Penguins and then won it again with the Capitals in 2018. In a total of 156 Stanley Cup Playoff games, Orpik had four goals and 22 assists for 26 points.
Over the course of his NHL career, Orpik earned an estimated total of $51 million dollars. It is unclear yet if Orpik will continue to stay in hockey in a management position with either the Capitals or Penguins. Overall it was a solid 15-year career for the 38-year old defenceman.
