{"id":23924,"date":"2019-01-14T12:10:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T17:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=23924"},"modified":"2019-01-14T12:10:19","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T17:10:19","slug":"josh-gorges-retires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/01\/14\/josh-gorges-retires\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres Defender Josh Gorges Retires"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran defenseman Josh Gorges<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0officially announced his retirement after 13-NHL seasons this morning. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st of this year\u00a0after his contract with the Buffalo Sabres<\/a> ran out. Gorges released a statement through the NHLPA.<\/p>\n

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Josh Gorges has announced his retirement from hockey today following 13 NHL seasons.<\/p>\n

Full release and a prepared statement from @jgorges26<\/a> available here: https:\/\/t.co\/Dh9JysIZs6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/LyLvMDvjfB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NHLPA (@NHLPA) January 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Free Agent Defenceman Josh Gorges Announces Retirement<\/h1>\n

Gorges was a rugged\u00a0defenseman that provided solid defensive depth and leadership throughout his NHL career.<\/p>\n

The writing was on the wall as his career wound down. A frequent healthy scratch for Buffalo last season, he put up only two\u00a0assists in 34 games played. His possession numbers were not much better at 44.1 percent Corsi\u00a0and a relative Corsi of -6.1. Those totals are worse compared to the 2016-17 season, where he scored one goal, five assists for six points. Over his\u00a013<\/i>-year NHL career\u00a0Gorges\u00a0played for the San Jose Sharks<\/a>, Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and the Sabres. He put up\u00a017\u00a0goals and\u00a0107\u00a0assists for\u00a0124\u00a0career points in 783 career NHL games. Gorges added nine assists in 68 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.<\/p>\n

Gorges was undrafted and signed as a free agent by San Jose in 2002. He was traded to the Canadiens in 2007. In 2014 Montreal traded him to the Sabres.<\/p>\n

Gorges time in Buffalo<\/a> didn’t go as expected. He moved from a strong Canadiens club with hopes of bringing Buffalo back to the playoffs. With no playoff appearances in his time and his contract expiring, general manager Jason Botterill<\/a>\u00a0opted not to bring back the veteran.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>