Players who retired surprisingly early

[MarkusKetterer]

Interesting. I just looked at his stats and I had completely forgotten that Linseman came back to play for Edmonton in 1990-91. He scored 36 points in 56 games -- a pace for 51 points. That was his last full-ish season in the NHL (he played 2 games for Toronto the following year). So, his last full season was at age 32. Surely he could have signed with Ottawa or San Jose and made some good money?

The guys I sort-of feel sorry for (to exaggerate a bit) are the guys who gave up their careers voluntarily around 1990 or 1991. Those kind of guys, if they'd stuck around three or four more seasons, could have made some serious coin for playing on the third line of an expansion team.

The most amusing thing about that is the fact that Linseman got a hockey card of him playing for the Leafs. I miss the 90s and their 700 card sets and then 200 extra cards later on

 

[Kim Davis]

Tom Edur retired in '78 at age 23 to devote his life to the Jehovah's Witness religion. He wasn't a superstar, but he was Pittsburgh's top-scoring defenceman his final season, and could've had a long career if he wanted. The Oilers tried to convince to sign with them when they joined the NHL in '79.

Another player who retied early and found religon was Minnesota North Stars' Alex Pirus. He later served as the chaplain for the Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL Chicago Wolves. Bill Nyrop of the Canadiens also retired early to attend law school.