Andrew Hammond retires from the NHL at 34
The Hamburglar is calling it quits.
In a post to Twitter on Monday afternoon, former NHL goaltender Andrew Hammond confirmed his retirement from hockey at the age of 34.
In his post, Hammond said he was dealing with an ankle injury that he suffered in Montreal and couldn’t make a full recovery.
Hammond’s start was as explosive as they come. After spending four years at Bowling Green in the NCAA, the undrafted prospect signed with Ottawa in 2013, spending most of the season in the AHL with Binghamton. In 2014-15, with the team dealing with injuries in the crease, Hammond made his mark with an unbelievable 20-1-2 record to help the Senators make the playoffs – something that seemed impossible at the time.
After some wins, Senators fans threw burgers on the ice to celebrate his nickname, the “Hamburglar”, with the previously unknown netminder becoming a cult hero instantly. Injuries limited him to just 11 games between the NHL and AHL the next year, but his time winning games with the Senators were over.
Hammond spent most of the next four years in the AHL and had a solid career in San Antonio, Iowa, Rochester and Iowa. He played one regular season game and three playoff matches with Colorado in 2017-18, but wouldn’t return to the NHL until the 2021-22 season. Hammond had a perfect 3-0-0 record with the Montreal Canadiens last year before moving to New Jersey, where he had a 1-5-1 record in seven games.
Hammond finished his career with two KHL games in Chelyabinsk this year, losing both of them, before getting released in mid-October.
While Hammond’s NHL tenure was a short one, nobody will forget it anytime soon. He was a true underdog that took the league by storm and made a name for himself out of seemingly nowhere.
Enjoy retirement, Hamburglar.