Marian Hossa ends playing career after 19 seasons

Marian Hossa, a veteran of 19 NHL seasons, announced the end of his playing career Saturday.

"I'm done playing hockey," he told Slovak newspaper Novy cas, as translated by NHL.com. "I have a contract with Chicago for the next three years, but I have to watch my health, and my body says the comeback is not possible."

Hossa missed the 2017-18 season due to a progressive skin disorder and the side effects of the medication used to treat it.

"Before the season, the NHL sent me to a clinic in Minneapolis to see a specialist who confirmed that it's impossible to play hockey when using those (anti-allergic) medicaments," he said. "I have to be aware of what might happen and I don't want to get back to the state I had been in during the previous seasons."

It's unclear what will happen with the remaining three years of Hossa's contract, as the Blackhawks could again place him on long-term injured reserve, or even possibly trade him.

"Let's see how this is done in the club," he said. "Maybe my contract changes to another club, I can not say yet, or I will stay on the list of injured players."

Slovak publication Dennik Sport recently reported that Hossa was planning to meet with Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz and president John McDonough to discuss a potential new role within the organization, according to The Athletic's Scott Powers.

"I can only do it after the expiration of the contract," Hossa said. "I have already talked to the boss of the club, so it's real that after three years I will work in the Chicago organization."

One of the best two-way forwards of his generation, Hossa finishes his career with 1,134 points in 1,309 games. He spent seven years with the Ottawa Senators to begin his career before a blockbuster trade sent him to Atlanta in exchange for Dany Heatley. After brief stints in Pittsburgh and Detroit, where he helped both teams reach the Stanley Cup Final, he joined the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he spent the last eight seasons of his career, winning three Stanley Cups.