Darryl Sydor played 18 seasons in the NHL, finishing up his career as a member of the St. Louis Blues (Getty Images).   Video: Sydor's Career Goal Highlights   Photo Gallery: A Career Retrospective   Stats: Career Stats | Game-by-Game Log

ST. LOUIS – Darryl Sydor has announced his retirement after 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).

“Darryl was a true pro throughout his entire career and especially for the St. Louis Blues organization,” said Blues President John Davidson.

“I’ve known Darryl for a long time and he is truly one of the classiest professionals I have seen in this league,” said Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong. “I wish nothing but success in the future for Darryl, his wife Sharlene and sons Parker, Braden, Dylan and Cooper.”

Sydor, 38, served stints with six different NHL clubs in his career including Los Angeles, Columbus, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and St. Louis while his longest tenure was spent with the Dallas Stars.

In nine seasons with the Stars, the 6-1, 211-pound defenseman accumulated 714 games played, 334 points (69 goals, 265 assists) and 401 penalty minutes. His totals for both games played and assists rank him 10th all-time in Dallas’ franchise history.

In addition, Sydor earned back-to-back NHL All-Star selections in 1998 and 1999 as well as the first of his two Stanley Cup Championships in 1999; His second came in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In total, Sydor’s 18-year regular season NHL career has yielded 1,291 games played, 507 points (98 goals, 409 assists), 755 penalty minutes and a career plus-21 rating. His 1,291 games played currently ranks him 16th all-time among NHL defenseman.

Including his two Stanley Cup-winning seasons, Sydor played in the post-season 11 times in his career.

In 155 playoff games, he accumulated 56 points (nine goals, 47 assists), 73 penalty minutes and a plus-7 rating. Also, in his only career playoff game-winning goal, Sydor beat Buffalo Sabres netminder Dominik Hasek in Game 5 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, helping the Stars to a 2-0 victory and earning them a 3-2 series lead which led to a Stanley Cup Championship two nights later.

The Edmonton, Alberta native spent the final year of his NHL career in St. Louis garnering eight assists and 15 penalty minutes in 47 games played with the Blues.

He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round (7th overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.