NHL Player Rick Nash Is Retiring Due to 'Unresolved Issues' from Concussion

After 15 years playing for the National Hockey League, Rick Nash is hanging up his skates.

The 34-year-old left winger — who has played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins — is retiring from the sport of hockey due to concussion-related symptoms.

“Due to unresolved issues/symptoms from the concussion sustained last March, Rick Nash will be forced to retire from the game of hockey,” Nash’s agency, Top Shelf Sports Management, said on Twitter. “Under the advice of his medical team, the risk of further brain injury is far too great if Rick returns to play.”

“Rick would like to thank everyone who has supported him during this difficult time period,” the agency continued.

A rep for Nash did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Nash was a six-time All-Star and prolific scorer, with 437 goals, 368 assists, and 805 points across his 1,060 game career, ESPN reported. That record put him third among active NHL players in goals scored, behind Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Marleau. In the 2003-04 season, he led the NHL with 41 goals.

His most recent reported concussion was in March, while a member of the Bruins, ESPN reported. Previously, in 2013, Nash missed six weeks with the Rangers due to concussion symptoms.

After news of Nash’s retirement broke, the athlete’s former teams began thanking him on social media.

“Today we want to thank a #CBJ great for his contributions on and off the ice,” wrote the Blue Jacks.

Of all his stats, the Rangers pointed to the one that matters the most.

“As fine a gentleman as we have known,” they wrote. “Thank you Rick, for six great years with [the New York Rangers] and a tremendous NHL career.”

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