Fan favorite goalie Anton Khudobin makes a life changing announcement

Former NHL goaltender Anton Khudobin has officially announced his retirement from professional hockey at 39 years old.

The Kazakh native has played the past two seasons in Russia and was last in the NHL during the 2022-23 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. In total he managed 260 career NHL games split between the Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild. He was drafted in the 7th round, 206th overall, by the Wild way, way back in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Fans will probably remember him most though for his time with the Stars.

Khudobin led the Stars to a Stanley Cup Final showdown against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the COVID-19 bubble playoff season in 2020. Khudobin was the team's backup that season, his usual role at all five stops in his NHL career, but emerged as the starter when Ben Bishop went down with injury. Khudobin then helped shepherd in youngster Jake Oettinger over the next couple seasons.

Khudobin was a well loved teammate and a fan favorite for his goaltending style. He was an old school battler, who put a priority on stopping the puck by any means necessary, even if he looked and played a bit unorthodox.

All the best, Dobie!