One of the top power forwards in NHL history has called it a career as Brendan Shanahan today officially announced his retirement. 

This announcement has been expected for several weeks in the wake of the New Jersey Devils reaching an agreement with Shanahan releasing him from his contract with the club during pre-season. 

Shanahan retires with an impressive resume of statistics which will one day see him enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

As per the NHL press release:

Shanahan finishes his career in 11th place on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list with 656 goals. He stands 11th in games played with 1,524, 22nd in penalty minutes with 2,489, 23rd in points with 1,354 and 49th in assists with 698. He is the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals and leads all NHL players with 17 “Gordie Howe” hat tricks. One of the game’s all-time clutch performers, Shanahan ranks fifth all-time with 109 game-winning goals. He tallied 237 goals on the power play, also fifth in NHL history, including a League-leading and career-best 20 in 1996-97.

        The eight-time NHL All-Star recorded at least 40 goals in six of his 21 seasons and is one of only 11 players in NHL history to have 12 seasons of at least 30 goals. Shanahan’s 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons rank second to only Gordie Howe’s 21. He eclipsed the 50-goal mark on two occasions, tallying 51 in 71 games with St. Louis in 1992-93 and then reached a career high with 52 in 1993-94, when he also led the League with seven shorthanded tallies. Shanahan was voted to the NHL First All-Star Team twice (1994, 2000) and the NHL Second All-Star Team once (2002). Throughout his career, Shanahan was always one of the League’s top ambassadors. He was awarded the King Clancy Trophy in 2003 for his exemplary work in the community. Shanahan enjoyed his finest offensive season in 1993-94, when he established career-highs in goals (52), assists (50), points (102), penalty minutes (211) and shots (397).

        Appearing in the post-season in 19 of his 21 seasons, Shanahan ranks 35th on the NHL’s playoff scoring list with 134 points in 184 games. He ranks seventh with a plus 31 rating, tied for 19th with 12 game-winning goals and is tied for 27th with 60 goals. In 1997, Shanahan placed second on the Red Wings in playoff scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points, while helping lead Detroit to their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. In 2002, he ranked second on the team and tied for third in the NHL with 19 points in 23 games, helping lead the Red Wings to their third Stanley Cup in six seasons. 

Shanahan was also, as Toronto Globe and Mail hockey columnist Eric Duhatschek points out, "an innovator off the ice, an articulate well-spoken voice of his generation". 

It was "The Shanahan Summit", convened during the lockout season of 2004-05, which resulted in several rules changes that have improved the league's on-ice product, reducing uncalled obstruction and bringing more speed back to the game. 

Don't be surprised if Shanahan plays some sort of role in rebuilding the shattered leadership of the troubled NHL Players Association. 

His playing days may be done but it's likely the hockey world hasn't seen or heard the last of Brendan Shanahan.