World News – CA – Johnny Boychuk retired due to an eye injury

The New York Islanders announced on Wednesday that defenseman Johnny Boychuk’s career ended due to an eye injury in the 2019-20 season.

The islanders said in a statement that he made this decision after numerous and extensive medical examinations.

Boychuk was injured shortly before the start of the regular season in early March when he was hit by the skate blade of forward Artturi Lehkonen of Montreal, Canada.

He made a brief return during the summer NHL Return To Play and appeared in three postseason games. He was injured in their first playoff game against Florida after receiving a blow to the head and didn’t return to the Eastern Conference Final until a month and a half later.

Boychuk said Wednesday that after he stepped out of the NHL bubble and started training, he discovered that something was really wrong with his eye.

He also said that quitting gambling isn’t really a decision, but « a life choice. ”

36-year-old Boychuk has two years left on his contract, which has a salary cap of $ 6 million per season. Because of this, this is not officially recorded in the books as « retirement » as the islanders either use the LTIR list or swap his contract with another team.

Boychuk has spent the past six seasons as a member of the Islanders, having been acquired in an early 2014 deal with the Boston Bruins.

For his career, Boychuk played 725 regular season games with the Colorado Avalanche, Bruins and Islanders, scoring 54 goals and a total of 206 points.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk for NBC Sports. Write him an email at phtblog @ nbcsports. com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Johnny Boychuk, New York Islander, Boston Bruins, National Hockey League, Stanley Cup, Injury