NHL veteran Eric Gryba announces his retirement.

A National Hockey League defenseman has decided to call it a career at the age of 31. 

On Sunday night NHL veteran Eric Gryba took to social media to announce that he would be hanging up his skates, presumably after failing to land a contract this summer with an NHL organization. It is unclear if Gryba attempted to test the free agent waters or not, but he did hint in the video he published that his health was playing a factor in his decision. During the video Gryba can be heard saying that "the body is starting to fail a little bit," and if he is making this decision with his long term future in mind then I commend him for having the courage to walk away from the game. 

Gryba's video was accompanied by the following message:

I’m hanging up the skates! I am proud of the career I was able to put together and couldn’t be more grateful of all the support I received along the way. I am excited for my next chapter and all the challenges that are to come. Now let’s hunt!

It certainly does sound like the veteran defenseman has a passion for hunting as he mentioned it both in his message and in the video. Although Gryba seems somewhat somber while announcing his retirement, you can see a noticeable grin creep onto his face as he talks about all the extra time he will have to hunt during the season. It is great that he has found something that he loves away from the game of hockey, and hopefully his love of hunting will help fill the void that will no doubt be left by the absence of NHL hockey in his life. 

Throughout his career Gryba made his mark in several NHL markets including in Ottawa with the Senators, in Edmonton with the Oilers, and in New Jersey with the Devils. During his tenure with those 3 organizations Gryba appeared in a total of 289 career NHL games, recording 7 goals and 36 assists for a total of 43 career points. 

We wish Gryba nothing but the best on his future endeavors.