Andrew “The Hamburglar” Hammond officially retires at 34 years old

The Hamburglar is calling it quits.

Andrew Hammond, the now 34 year old netminder who rose to prominence during an unlikely run with the Ottawa Senators nearly a decade ago, has officially retired from professional hockey.

Hammond played just two games with the KHL's Chelyabinsk Traktor this season before terminating his contract due to injury. He played seven games for the New Jersey Devils last season, but fought through injury the entire time. In his retirement announcement, Hammond states that he injured his ankle during his stint with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021-22 and has not been able to recovery fully from the injury. As a result, he's packing it in after 67 career NHL games slit between the Senators, Canadiens, Devils and Colorado Avalanche.

Here's his official statement via social media:

The Surrey, BC native turned himself into a household name with the Sens during the 2014-15 season when he put up a ridiculous 20 wins in 24 starts, paired with an insane 1.79 GAA and .941 save percentage. He vaulted the Sens into the playoff picture and established the "Hamburglar" nickname.

It was a magical time in the team's history and Hammond will no doubt go down as one of the best "feel good stories" we've experienced in professional hockey.

Just an insane run from Hammond during that stretch.

Of course, he was never able to replicate his play from that stretch, but he managed to find plenty of work for himself as a depth option around the league. While he played for four NHL franchises, he suited up for another six franchises in the AHL. He's the classic case an and NHL/AHL in-betweener. In total he earned himself $6.3 million in salary, so here's hoping that he can fund a comfortable post-playing life for him and his young family.

To me, Hammond is proof that an undrafted goaltender who has been given up on can change the narrative and can carve out a nice little career for himself through sheer hard work and determination.