Brief, But Former Ligthning Forward Retires From Professional Hockey

Tampa Bay Lightning center Riley Nash (20) controls the puck during the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
It may have been for a short while, but Riley Nash, a former Tampa Bay Lightning forward, has retired from professional hockey at the age of 36.

Nash spent the 2024-25 season rehabbing what he explained as a variety of knee injuries while under contract with the New York Rangers. In the 2023-24 season, when Nash last played a game, he skated in 41 games in the AHL, scoring 11 goals and 27 points. He played in just one game in the NHL that year. 

Prior to joining the Rangers, Nash split the 2021-22 season with three teams, recording 15 games with the Winnipeg Jets, 24 games with the Arizona Coyotes and 10 games with the Lightning. Nash also recorded eight games in the playoffs, the postseason in which the Lightning lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup finals.

The Consort, AB native, finished his NHL career playing in 628 games, scoring 63 goals and 176 points. Throughout his 12-year NHL career, Nash served almost exclusively as a fourth-line center. He was reliable in the defensive end and finished his career winning 48.5 percent of his faceoffs. 

In an interview with  Tyler Lowey of Castanet Kamloops, Nash said “With three wonderful young kids and the way my body has behaved over the past few years, it was time to take a step back as an older guy and let others chase their dream the same way I did,” he told Lowey. “I consider myself very fortunate to have played in front of my kids over the last few years. They helped me regain the passion and love for the sport I had as a kid. Now was the right time to step away.”

The former 21st overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft retires after playing for seven NHL teams.