Stars' Johns retires after missing season with post-concussion syndrome

Warning: Instagram post contains coarse language

Stephen Johns is ending his NHL career.

The 29-year-old defenseman, who was a pending unrestricted free agent with the Dallas Stars, revealed his plans Sunday on Instagram.

Johns sat out the entire 2021 campaign after missing more than half of 2019-20 and all of 2018-19 due to headaches resulting from a concussion he sustained in March 2018.

He played in three round-robin postseason games for the Stars during the Stanley Cup Final run in 2020, but he played only Game 1 of Dallas' first-round series against the Calgary Flames before missing the rest of the playoffs.

Johns was a finalist for the Masterton Trophy - awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey - last season.

The Pennsylvania-born blue-liner netted 15 goals and 18 assists in 167 games over four campaigns, all of which he played with the Stars. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted him 60th overall in 2010 before trading him to Dallas along with forward Patrick Sharp for winger Ryan Garbutt and defenseman Trevor Daley in July 2015.