Brett Hull Retires

The only two players who scored more goals in the NHL than Brett Hull were Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe. Let that sink in for a moment.

Yesterday Brett Hull retired from hockey.

Hull is 41 and instead of thinking of him as the third leading goal scorer I think of him as the number one NHL over-achiever of all-time. Hull was a pudgy kid who Canada didn't want on the national team and who was taken 117th in the 1984 draft by Calgary. Then Calgary decided they didn't want him either and so traded Hull to St. Louis for Rob Ramage (flotsam) and Rick Wamsley (jetsam) in 1988.

Hull became a star in St. Louis and I know that this bitter Bruins fan thought he was still a fluke. I thought that Adam Oates and his sure handed assists made him. I was wrong.

He always had a slapper (like his dad) but in St. Louis Hull became the king of the one-timer. He ended up with 8 seasons where he scored 40+ goals and his career 741 goals and 650 assists speak for themself. Probably most importantly to Hull - he also has two Stanley Cup wins (with Dallas in 1999 and with Detroit in 2002).

Hull was born in Canada but after he became a star he remained on the US national team because they took him in when Canada shunned him. His loyalty to the US team may be the one thing I end up remembering the most.