- Ryan Spooner has retired at 34, just five games into his stint with HK Dukla Trencin
- The former Bruins forward played 325 NHL games before seven years in Europe
- Read below for why he walked away, plus video of his 2017-18 highlights
Ryan Spooner is hanging up his skates.
HK Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga announced Tuesday that the 34-year-old forward has retired, less than a month after he signed a one-year deal with the club. He leaves with a goal and three assists in five games.
Family was the reason. The club said Spooner loved his time in Trencin and wanted to keep going, but after so many seasons away from home, being apart from his family kept getting harder.
Spooner explained the decision in a statement released by the club, translated from Slovak:
“I really enjoyed my time at this club and honestly believed I’d play one more season. Ending my career wasn’t an easy decision for me, but I feel it’s the right one. Thank you again to the club, my teammates and the fans for everything. I’ll be cheering hard for the guys this season.”
Here’s Dukla’s announcement:
Sporting director Branko Radivojevic said the call came entirely from Spooner. “Ryan is a fair guy,” he said, adding that the club understands his reasons and fully respects them. Trencin will now look for a replacement to fill the open import spot.
It’s a big hole for Dukla. Radivojevic had told Dennik Sport before the season that Spooner was the team’s highest-paid player.
Boston took the Ottawa native 45th overall in 2010. His best NHL year came in 2015-16, when he put up 13 goals and 49 points in 80 games for the Bruins.
Things moved fast after that. Boston sent him to the Rangers in the Rick Nash trade in 2018, New York flipped him to Edmonton for Ryan Strome that November, and the Oilers moved him to Vancouver for Sam Gagner a few months later. Those 11 games with the Canucks were his last in the NHL.
Take a look at Spooner’s 2017-18 highlights with the Bruins and Rangers:
He finished with 48 goals and 119 assists for 167 points in 325 NHL games.
Europe gave him a second act. Spooner spent most of the next seven years in the KHL, and his best season came in 2023-24 with Avangard Omsk, where he scored 23 goals and 61 points in 65 games.
Trencin was supposed to be the next chapter. Instead, Spooner is heading home to his family.
