Roberts Ends Illustrious 22-season Career

Stanley Cup winner Gary Roberts retired Tuesday after 22 seasons, in the words of T.S. Eliot, not with a bang, but a whimper.

It could be no other way. Gary Roberts, 42, wasn't the type to hoist the Stanley Cup and then retire. No, if Gary Roberts had that much energy, he'd come back for another year.

Roberts retired two-thirds of the way through his first season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, after previously playing with the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

"I knew the Tampa Bay situation, with 18 games left, I knew they wanted to play the young guys," Roberts said. "I talked with coach Rick Tocchet and he said if I earned the ice time, he would give it to me. Over the past 13 or 14 games, my game was pretty good. I'm not retiring because of health issues. I'm healthier than I was at 30.”