Darche Puts His Career to Rest

Mathieu Darche, 36, has decided to call it quits after Renaud Lavoie reported that it was likely to happen this week. It is not hard to believe that Darche had more left in the tank but after declining a two-way deal from Montreal, the lockout and not earning a deal from New Jersey after skating with their team for quite some time, it was inevitable. It’s understandable that Mathieu did not want to take a two-way deal as he was finished with riding the bus and felt he deserved more after spending a lot of time up with the Canadiens. He could have served as a 4th line player in another team’s line up considering the injuries and depth issues of some rosters. However, a lot of teams are looking to get younger and stick with the veterans they already had.

Darche has played for a number of different clubs over his NHL career which includes 250 regular season games and 18 in the playoffs. He has suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning and most recently, the Montreal Canadiens. His career high came with the Habs in the 2010-11 season where he put up 26 points in 59 games. He was a player that always did what he was told to do, gave it his all on every shift and would do anything for his teammates. Considering he was undrafted, he did not have that bad of a career. Good luck in the future Darche.

And this is how Mathieu announced his retirement:

