King City’s Carcillo announces retirement from NHL

September 30, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
After nearly a decade of journeyman hockey, Dan Carcillo has hung up his skates on the heels of his second Stanley Cup victory.
But it won’t be his final hurrah with the game of hockey. The unsigned forward has spent the summer establishing Chapter 5, a not-for-profit organization designed to help players adjust to life after their hockey playing days are over.
“Today, I’m retiring from the National Hockey League,” Carcillo wrote in an essay to the Player’s Tribune. “My immediate goal is to help athletes transition to the next phase of their life – whether it’s continuing education, finding internships with companies, or networking with other athletes who are dealing with the same issues. My mission is to help guys who are dealing with anxiety, depression, and uncertainty about their future. Not down the line, not next week, but right now.”
Carcillo battled with a number of personal demons throughout his NHL career, namely drug and alcohol abuse. He received quite an emotional blow upon the death of close friend Steve Montador in February, even stating that he had seen Montador’s mental state deteriorating in the months leading to his death.
He and Montador struck up a friendship almost immediately upon Carcillo landing with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011, both helping each other in trying to overcome substance abuse problems.
Carcillo earned the first of his cup rings with the Blackhawks in 2013, and again during his second stint with the club in 2015.
While Schomberg’s Mike Kitchen, assistant coach with the Blackhawks, was the focal point of the Stanley Cup’s visit this past summer, it was Carcillo who paraded hockey’s most coveted prize at the King City Community Centre in 2013.
“King is a hockey town,” said Carcillo. “That was a special day.”
He began his junior career with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, eventually cracking an NHL roster in 2006 with the Phoenix Coyotes. He had a successful three-year stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, breaking the 20-point barrier in 2010, and also suited up for the Los Angeles King, New York Rangers, and Blackhawks throughout his career.
He earned 92 points in just under 400 games played in the NHL, while racking up 1179 penalty minutes.