Former Philadelphia Flyer and long-time journeyman, Nate Thompson, has announced his retirement from the NHL. After 15 seasons in the league with 9 different teams, Thompson has decided to hang his skates with his final pit stop having been in Philadelphia back in 2021-22.
Thompson was a wily veteran with 65 goals and 164 points across 844 games played with the Tampa Bay Lightning (305 games), Anaheim Ducks (159 games), New York Islanders (82 games), Montreal Canadiens (88 games), Los Angeles Kings (79 games), Flyers (40 games), Winnipeg Jets (44 games), Ottawa Senators (43 games), and Boston Bruins (4 games).
Drafted in the 6th round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, Thompson started his NHL career in 2006-07. He was claimed on waivers by the Islanders ahead of the 2008 season before being placed back on waivers in January of 2010 but then being claimed by the Lightning. He scored 36 goals and 75 points in parts of 5 seasons with Tampa Bay before being dealt to Anaheim in 2014 for 2 draft picks.
He signed with the Senators as a free agent in 2017 after spending 3 seasons in Anaheim, was traded to the Kings in 2018 in a deal that involved Marian Gaborik and Dion Phaneuf, was then traded to Montreal a year later before finding his way to Philadelphia ahead of the 2020 trade deadline.
The Flyers traded a 2021 5th round pick for his services after Alain Vigneault and Chuck Fletcher were in need of a veteran leader. He played in 7 games before injuring his knee on the 10th of March against the Boston Bruins. Coincidentally, this was the final game before the NHL postponed the season due to COVID. He made his return during the bubble playoffs – fully healthy – and scored in the first round robin game against Boston, but then went without a point the rest of the way. He did however average 13:08 TOI and won 60.1% of his faceoffs, which was mainly why he was brought over from Montreal in the first place.
After going unsigned by Philadelphia, Thompson then signed with the Winnipeg Jets in October of 2020. He ended up rejoining the Flyers ahead of the 2021-22 season on a one-year deal that was worth $800,000. In his second stint with the team, he scored 1 goal and 3 points in 33 games, averaged 11:58 TOI, but won 55.7% of his draws.
After going unsigned in free agency, he agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Ontario Reign of the AHL (Los Angeles affiliate) in October of 2022.
Thompson appeared on The Empty Netters podcast and incidentally announced his retirement:
Thompson was a team-first player who was willing to sacrifice his body for the greater good. He would always stand up for his teammates, was a reliable and serviceable bottom-6 centre, won plenty of draws, killed penalties, and wasn’t shy of finishing checks and blocking shots.
Happy retirement to Nate Thompson and let’s relish in one of his best moments as a Flyer below:
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