Photo credit: Tampa Bay Lightning

Anton Stralman, who was drafted by the Maple Leafs and went on to have a lengthy NHL career, is retiring from the sport of hockey and shifting to another sport.

After a long NHL career where he played more than 900 regular season games, and a brief stint back home in Sweden, defenceman Anton Stralman has announced his retirement from the sport of hockey at the age of 38. The veteran already has his next position lined up.

Stralman was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round (216th overall) in 2005. After two seasons in Toronto, he was traded twice in a three month span, first to the Calgary Flames, and then to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Stralman also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Arizona Coyotes before playing his last season in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, where he participated in a total of eight games.

After leaving the Boston Bruins, Anton Stralman played last season at home in Sweden with HV71 of the SHL. While the 2024-25 SHL season has started, Stralman had not played and was silent on whether he would be retiring, until now. Stralman is indeed hanging up the skates and has made a choice to get involved with women’s soccer in Sweden. He has joined the coaching staff of Skultorps IF in the women’s division 1 series.

 
“We are incredibly humbly grateful that we get this opportunity. He will help us with the physical training before and during the coming season.” – Stefan Gustafson of Skultorps IF
 

Stralman’s 938 regular season NHL games is a testament to his perseverance and love for the sport of hockey, which should translate well when coaching in any sport. There’s no doubt he’ll make a great addition to Skultorps coaching staff. Stralman also played another 113 postseason games during his NHL career, and won a gold medal with Sweden at the World Hockey Championship in 2017.