Erik Cole announces retirement from hockey

Former NHL left wing Erik Cole has announced his retirement from hockey. During his 892-game career he played with the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings.

Erik Cole, 38, has officially announced his retirement from hockey. He signed a ceremonial contract with the Carolina Hurricanes before announcing his retirement. He will also be staying on with the Hurricanes as a team ambassador.

Kole played in 892 regular season games for the Hurricanes, Oilers, Canadiens, Stars and Red Wings during his career. During that time he had 265 goals and 267 assists to go along with 659 penalty minutes.

Kole also made four Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, playing in 46 playoff games. He scored six goals and added eight assists to his playoff tally. He was also part of the of the Hurricanes team who lost in the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Red Wings in 2002.

Cole spent nine seasons out of his 14-year career with the Hurricanes. He played in 557 games for Carolina. During that time he scored 168 goals and had 195 assists. These tallies put him ninth all-time in regular season games played, six goals shy of top ten all-time, one assist short of top ten and ninth all-time in Hurricanes history.

He is also tied-fourth all-time in shorthanded goals in Hurricanes history with eight and fifth all-time in game-winning goals with 34 during his time in Carolina.

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He experienced one of his two best seasons in Carolina as well. During the 2006-07 season Cole scored 29 goals and added 32 assists in just 71 games. He would match this tally in 2011-12 while playing with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 35 goals and adding 26 assists.

While the 2011-12 season was only one of two times he had more then 30 goals in a season, Cole did break the 20-goal mark five times. He also broke the 20-assist mark seven different times during his career.