The Philadelphia Flyers got some unexpected salary cap relief on Monday when it was reported veteran forward Sami Kapanen had announced his retirement from the National Hockey League, opting to finish his playing career with KalPa Kuopio in Finland.

Kapanen, who’ll be 38 on June 14th, was under contract with the Flyers for next season at $1.25 million, and his retirement will free up that salary, which the club can put toward either re-signing their key free agents or pursuing unrestricted free agent players.

It’s the end of a twelve-year NHL career for Kapanen, split between the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers. His best season came with the Hurricanes in 2001-02, where he set career highs in goals (27), assists (42) and points (69), and had 9 points in 23 playoffs games as the Hurricanes made their improbable run to the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

Kapanen was a five time 20+ goalscorer and would notch 57 or more points four times, but in his final seasons with the Flyers he was more of a defensive specialist and at times was even pressed into service as a defenseman.

With the Flyers hoping to re-sign young free agents Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger as well as hoping to bring in more mobility to their defense corps it’s possible Kapanen might’ve faced a contract buyout by the Flyers had he not decided to retire.

He finishes his NHL career with 458 points in 831 regular season game and 35 points in 87 playoff games.