Canucks: Former goaltender Eddie Lack officially retires

The Vancouver Canucks’ former Swedish goaltender Eddie Lack has hung up the pads and officially announced his retirement from pro hockey and the NHL.

It’s officially official Vancouver Canucks fans. Former goaltender of Vancouver and a big-time fan favourite Swede, 32-year-old Eddie Lack from Norrtalje has called it a career. With a series of video messages from his Twitter page, “The Stork” spoke openly to his fans about the difficult decision to walk away from hockey for good.

It was originally August 14th, 2019 when Lack took to his Twitter page with an emotional and difficult announcement about his hips. Back then they weren’t at a level suited for a return to professional hockey, and it was at this time Lack made it clear he was taking a break from the game. This announcement was a tough pill to swallow for the goalie, but it was realistic and the right call to make. This is what he said nearly eight months ago.

"Dear fans and friends, my body won’t allow me to play professional hockey at this time. I still have a ways ahead of me in PT regarding my hips. Injuries are tough and I’m going to keep working hard daily, but I’ve been playing through hip pain the last 6 years, and with PT now I need to make sure I give myself the preparations I need to play at an NHL level again. In the meantime, because I’m not healthy enough to play or sign right now, I am happy to announce I will be the new goalie coach at Arizona State University. I love the game and I’m excited to share some of the kowledge I’ve gained in my professional career. Thank you for the support and #forksup."

Now with the NHL on pause for the foreseeable future and Lack’s career unsalvagable, Eddie took this spare time as the perfect opportunity to tell the world he has officially called it a career. Lack has been coaching at the University of Arizona and will continue to do so when COVID-19 is eventually defeated. Here’s the video from his official account.

https://twitter.com/eddielack/status/1244711156091990018

After Lack went unselected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he inked his first NHL contract on the dotted line with the Vancouver Canucks in 2010. He spent some time cleaning up his game playing for the Manitoba Moose where he racked up some big wins and earned himself a starting spot on the AHL All-Rookie squad.

The 6’4 netminder was named team backup during the 2013-14 season and eventually went on to win the net and starting position from future Hall of Famer, Roberto Luongo. He got his big moment starting the 2014 Heritage Winter Classic against the Ottawa Senators in favour of Luongo.

In his four-year NHL career, Lack said the best time of his career was in Vancouver. He played 82 games over two seasons and wishes the Canucks all the best in the future of trying to win their first Stanley Cup.

Looking back, Lack stacked the pads in 144 games holding a record of 56-55-18 with 34 of those wins in a Canucks uniform as well as a 2.62 GAA and a 0.909% save percentage. Here’s to a successful hockey career!