The great career of a great Devil is over.

Bobby Holik told The Post yesterday that he is retiring from hockey after 18 NHL seasons, 11 of those with New Jersey.

“I’m done. I’m retiring,” Holik said from his home in Wyoming. “I miss being with my family every day. I knew when the season ended, but I wanted to leave and get home first, and not make a big deal of it.

“A player is what I was. Now I’m a husband and a father.”

Holik, 38, was the first-round (10th overall) pick of the Hartford Whalers in 1989 and was traded to New Jersey with a second-rounder (Jay Pandolfo) for Sean Burke and Eric Weinrich on Aug 28, 1992. He centered the Crash Line between Mike Peluso and Randy McKay, helping the Devils to their first Stanley Cup in 1995.

He played 10 straight seasons with the Devils, winning another Cup in 2000 and piling up 16 points in the 2001 run to Game 7 of the Finals. After a rancorous arbitration in 2001, Holik signed a huge contract with the Rangers, for $9 million a season, in 2002. He played two years with the Rangers before the salary cap forced Glen Sather to buy him out.

Holik signed with Atlanta for three seasons and was captain of the Thrashers in 2007-08. He returned to the Devils last season for what would be his final NHL campaign.

Nicknamed “Herf” — as in Hereford cow, because of his bull-like size and style — Holik was a formidable foe, far beyond his considerable offensive talents. He annoyed opponents before running them over, and in many ways, was a prototypical Devil.

He played 1,314 regular season games, going 328-421-747 with 1,423 penalty minutes and a plus-115 rating. He played 786 games with New Jersey, seventh all-time, and was 202-270-472, with 883 penalty minutes and plus-134-rating with the Devils. He played 124 playoff games for the Devils, 20-37-57, and 138 games total, 20-39-59.

“The No. 1 reason I’m retiring is to be with my family and see my daughter [Hannah Marie, 12]. That’s too much to give up again. The No. 2 reason is that I don’t have to retire, so I’m very fortunate.”

Holik may have had the opportunity to return to the Devils for another season, or perhaps even play in Europe, although he is a naturalized U.S. citizen, born in Jihlava, Czech Republic.

“It feels right, and every day it feels more right,” Holik said.

The Stanley Cups and personal honors, two All-Star game appearances, are major highlights for him, but Holik said the NHL was even more than that.

“What I appreciate the most is the challenge every day to prove myself, wanting to do my best, and prove I am what I am, not just the championships, but every practice, every morning skate, trying to score goals on Marty Brodeur or Kevin Weekes, trying to get around Scott Stevens.

“It’s the same game we played at age 10. But for a few moments of glory, of ‘Wow!,’ there’s a tremendous amount of sacrifice.

“What I enjoyed was being a hockey player, more than anything. Being a professional hockey player is the best life anyone can have.”

It was a long career, and a great one. He was given one of the NHL’s biggest-ever salaries for a reason, because he was such an important member of that Devils dynasty. They won’t find another like him soon.

mark.everson@nypost.com