NHL star Owen Nolan retires

PanARMENIAN.Net - Owen Nolan officially announced his retirement from the NHL, CBC Sports reported.

Nolan, who turns 40 on Sunday, last played a full season in the league with Minnesota in 2009-10.

After a season in Switzerland, he had impressive moments with Vancouver in training camp five months ago, but was not signed to a contract by the Canucks or any other club.

"I guess I've known this day was here for a while," said Nolan. "It's tough to give it up when your heart and mind wants to keep doing it. My body can't keep up and I had to accept that."

Nolan mixed skill with grit throughout his career, finishing with 422 goals and 463 assists in 1,200 NHL games to go along with 1,793 penalty minutes.

The former No. 1 draft pick retired in the city where he spent eight productive seasons, five as captain of the Sharks.

"To be a power forward in the NHL is like being a running back in the NFL," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. "You take a lot of punishment and hand out a lot of punishment. To have played as long as he has, and at that level, is remarkable."