In a statement on Twitter, former Chicago Blackhawks forward Viktor Stalberg announced his retirement from hockey on Friday afternoon.
— Viktor Stalberg (@VStalberg) August 13, 2021
Stalberg, 35, had not played in the NHL since the 2016-17 season, which he split between the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators. He’d split time between the Swiss National League and Russia’s KHL for the last four years before deciding to hang up his skates for good.
Stalberg was originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sixth round (161st overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft. In eight NHL seasons, Stalberg appeared in 488 games with 82 goals and 86 assists.
He came to Chicago on June 30, 2010 as part of the trade that sent Kris Versteeg north of the border. Stalberg spent three seasons in Chicago during the finest stretch of his career, appearing in 203 games with 43 goals and 47 assists while averaging 12:48 of ice time. He also played in 32 Stanley Cup Playoff games with one goal and five assists, earning a Stanley Cup with the 2013 Blackhawks team, later posing for a memorable photo with fellow countrymen (from left): Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marcus Kruger and Johnny Oduya.
Also, Stalberg was responsible for one of the more absurd moments that hockey can produce. After being tripped on a breakaway in a Jan. 5, 2011 game against the Dallas Stars, Stalberg was awarded a penalty shot. He didn’t score on it, but did something that ended up far more memorable: