NHL Vet Says Trip To The Masters Lured Him Into Official Retirement

Every professional athlete reaches a point when they know it's officially time to hang 'em up, and according to former New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck, that came while he was at — of all places — the Masters.

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Clutterbuck hasn't appeared in an NHL game since the 2023-24 season, but he officially announced his retirement in a video posted to social media.

"Hey, everyone," Clutterbuck began. I'm sitting here on Masters Saturday. I actually got a chance to go to the Masters, as you can see here, on Thursday with my dad and some friends, which was awesome.

"And I couldn't help but think about how I would have never been able to do that if I were still playing hockey, which brings me to this announcement post," he continued. "Obviously, I haven't played hockey in the NHL in a year, and I think it's safe to say that everyone assumed, but I'm going to make it official today: I am retiring from the NHL."

Clutterbuck had one heck of a career, which started as a member of the Minnesota Wild organization and a pair of NHL appearances during the 2007-08 season. Clutterbuck stayed with the Wild until 2013, when he was traded to the New York Islanders for Nino Niederreiter.

It was with the Islanders that Clutterbuck played his best hockey as a member of the team's notorious fourth line — which came to be known as the "Identity Line" alongside Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas.

That proved to be one of the most effective fourth-line combos in recent memory, and you can see in the caption from Clutterbuck's announcement that he made sure to thank Cizikas and Martin, who are both still with the Islanders (though there are rumors that could change for Martin over the offseason).

Clutterbuck appeared in 1,062 career NHL games and racked up 293 points (143G, 150A) and 698 penalty minutes.