Stars defenseman Andrej Sekera retires from NHL

After 16 seasons and 842 career games, Andrej Sekera is calling it quits.

The Stars defenseman announced his retirement from hockey on Monday at 36 years old. Sekera was a free agent after fulfilling the two-year contract he signed with the Stars in Oct. 2020.

“My hockey career is over,” Sekera told the Slovakia newspaper SME. “I’ve had some offers as a free agent, but still I decided to quit. A big reason was my son had had some medical issues during the last year. After everything we went through, I realized the best would be if I devoted more time to my family. I thought maybe it would turn around somehow, but that did not happen.”

Since 2006-07, Sekera has played for five NHL teams: Buffalo, Carolina, Los Angeles, Edmonton and Dallas. He spent the last three seasons with the Stars.

Sekera appeared in all 27 playoff games during the Stars’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020. He appeared in 32 games with the Stars last season and didn’t play during their first-round playoff series against the Flames.

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