Health Issue Forces former NHLer to Retire from Hockey

2023-24 would have been Sami Lepisto's 20th year playing pro hockey. Unfortunately, despite signing a contract with HIFK of the Finnish Elite League for next season, Lepisto won't be playing. The team announced today that a routine medical examination found a heart issue that has forced Lepisto to retire.

Lepisto himself said the issue isn't a big one, but there would have been a risk every time he got on the ice.

The NHL

Lepisto was drafted 66th overall by the Washington Capitals in 2004. He waited three seasons to come to North America. After a couple of years with the Caps, he was traded to Phoenix for a second-round pick in 2010. In 2011, he was traded once again, this time to the Columbus Blue Jackets. At the end of that season, he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, and that would be the last team he played for in the NHL. In total, he managed 166 regular season NHL games.

Russia

In 2012, Lepisto signed a deal in the KHL, and ended up playing there for nine seasons with various teams. After Jokerit, the team Lepisto was playing for at the time, withdrew from the KHL, he played a season in the Swedish Hockey League, and then the Swiss National League before signing the contract with HIFK earlier this summer.


While his NHL career likely didn't turn out the way he had hoped, Lepisto was a force for his home country of Finland in international tournaments. He helped Finland win two bronze medals at the Olympics, a gold and a bronze at the World Championships, and bronze at the World Juniors in 2004. That same year, Lepisto was named the Best Defenceman at the WJC.


Source: BladeOfSteel.com