Time to go
His legacy here: 3 Stanley Cups
Chris Kunitz, who won three rings with the Penguins, retires.
After 15 NHL seasons, four Stanley Cups and one of the most memorable goals in Pittsburgh playoff history, former Penguins winger Chris Kunitz has called it a career.
The 39- year- old, who played last season with the Chicago Blackhawks, announced on Tuesday that he’s hanging up his skates to join the Blackhawks hockey operations department as player development adviser.
“I feel very fortunate to have been part of four amazing organizations over the last 15 years,” Kunitz wrote in a statement. “First and foremost, I’d like to sincerely thank the Anaheim Ducks, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks. Every one of these organizations was the ultimate example, not only to me, but to my children, on what true professionalism should be.”
Kunitz, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He went on to win his first of four Stanley Cups with the Ducks in 2007.
During the 2008- 09 season, Kunitz was traded to the Penguins in exchange for defenseman Ryan Whitney. In Pittsburgh, Kunitz enjoyed nine productive seasons and played an integral role in three Stanley Cups ( 2009, 2016 and 2017).
“Terrific person. Terrific player,” Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said Tuesday. “He had great character and leadership. He always played the game at 100 percent and went about his business in a quiet way.
“Family man. A team guy. He was just one of those really good guys that you’d like to have more of on your team.”
Kunitz had a flare for creating big plays in key moments, starting with his first postseason with the Penguins.
Before the first game of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Kunitz’s wife, Maureen, went into labor overnight. She gave birth to their first of three children, Zachary James, at 9: 41 a. m., about 10 hours before the Penguins’ opening- round game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Kunitz was running on almost no sleep, and there were questions as to whether he’d play at all. Yet, on his first shift, he laid a hit that began to set the tone for the 4- 1 Game 1 victory and the series as a whole.
Kunitz went on to become one of Sidney Crosby’s mosttrusted and productive linemates. He ranks ninth in goals ( 169) and 14th in points ( 388) in Penguins franchise history.
None of the goals were bigger than the final one of the 2017 Eastern Conference final. In double- overtime against Ottawa, Kunitz buried the winner to send the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup final for the second straight season.
“It was such a big game for us,” Rutherford said. “We don’t get that game, we don’t get the Cup.”
Kunitz left the Penguins following the 2016- 17 season as a free agent. He played with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 201718 and the Chicago Blackhawks last year. Kunitz’s wife is from the Chicago area, and Rutherford said it was the family’s goal to stay in that area.
However, no matter where he settles, the mark Kunitz made in Pittsburgh won’t soon be forgotten.