The National Hockey League’s ice arena has seen a lot in its century-plus history. Legends have been born on these ice surfaces, and they have also been sent off forever by their fans, their home stadium, and the ice hockey stakes. One such legend is Patric Hornqvist, who won the Stanley Cup twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins and played his last season in the NHL with the Florida Panthers after 15 years in the league with a total of three different clubs.

The Swedish ice hockey superstar just announced his retirement to his legion of admirers, who have seen him rise from rookie to Stanley Cup champion to living legend. The official NHL social media site paid respect to the 36-year-old star, and his many admirers went to the comments section to say their goodbyes.

Ending his NHL journey with the Florida Panthers

Patric Hornqvist has been a mainstay in the NHL for a long time, spending 15 years with three notable franchises. After being taken in the seventh round in 2005, he entered the NHL for the first time in the 2008–09 season. After convincing other clubs of his abilities as a forward, he spent six seasons with the Nashville Predators. He signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2014–15 season, and in the following two years—2015–16 and 2016–17—he won the Stanley Cup twice in a row with the same team. He had been with the Penguins for a while, but in 2020–21, he decided to try something new by joining the Florida Panthers. After playing in 901 games and tallying 264 goals, 279 assists, and 543 points, he retires from the sport.

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The Swedish forward leaves the NHL with $56,272,439. In an interview, he explains that giving up ice hockey was a “difficult decision to make” since the sport has meant so much to him. The “most important thing” for him right now is planning out the rest of his life. Since he has a history of injuries, he has no interest in risking more harm on the ice and instead plans to enjoy a quiet retirement.

As the Instagram post honoring Hornqvist’s career went viral, it’s safe to assume that hockey fans across the world will miss not having their attention drawn by the Swedish star anymore.

Netizens unite to bid farewell to the Swedish NHL legend

The Swedish legend will live on in the cold, hard hearts of ice hockey fans forever, proving that the adage “Legends never die” is more than just a platitude. Internet users rallied behind a commemorative Instagram post for Patric Hornqvist’s retirement, and it quickly went viral.

This fan has given out quite an interesting detail, as they said, “‘My name begins with P. I will only play for P teams.’ And he did.” It looks like we have a Penguins fan in the comment section. As they say, “Penguins legend! I was so sad when we traded him. Enjoy retirement :)”

A tribute comment for his plays at the Penguins read, “Immortalized on Lord Stanley’s cup!!!” Another comment shows how fierce of a competitor he was in the rink, as this comment read, “Dude used to give me nightmares, congrats on retirement Patric.”

As the 2023–24 NHL season approaches, the whole league will miss the Swedish superstar, who has hung up his skates and returned home to Sweden.

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