Ryan Getzlaf

At 38 years old, Ryan Getzlaf has this physical status:

While a member of the Regina Bantam AAA Rangers in 2000, Getzlaf was drafted into the Western Hockey League (WHL) by the Calgary Hitmen with the 54th pick in the 2000 WHL Bantam Draft. He stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) at the time of the draft, but grew 6 inches (0.15 m) by the time he joined the team as a 16-year-old. Getzlaf made his junior debut in 2001–02 and recorded 18 points in 63 games. He nearly quadrupled his offensive production as a 17-year-old in 2002–03 by scoring 29 goals and 68 points. His performance made him a top prospect for the 2003 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft; the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Getzlaf as the fifth best North American skater in the draft and he was taken in the first round, 19th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The Mighty Ducks returned Getzlaf to the Hitmen for the 2003–04 season. He recorded 75 points in just 49 games and was named to the WHL's first all-star team. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, Getzlaf was again returned to Calgary for his fourth season of junior hockey. He was named team captain, but was briefly stripped of the title by the coaches after earning several misconduct penalties for arguing with the officials. The captaincy was restored after a couple weeks, and Getzlaf moderated his interactions with referees. He also missed time during the season after suffering a concussion as a result of a hit by Dion Phaneuf of the Red Deer Rebels. Getzlaf finished the regular season with 54 points in 51 games, and after the Hitmen were eliminated from the WHL playoffs, was assigned to the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League (AHL) for their own playoff run. Getzlaf appeared in 10 post-season games for Cincinnati in his professional debut. He recorded one goal and four assists.

Getzlaf made the Mighty Ducks' roster out of training camp and began the 2005–06 season in Anaheim; he made his NHL debut on October 5, 2005, against the Chicago Blackhawks. After recording his first point with an assist on October 14 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Getzlaf scored his first NHL goal seven days later against goaltender Manny Legace of the Detroit Red Wings. Though Getzlaf had seven points in his first 16 games with Anaheim, he was demoted to the AHL's Portland Pirates in mid-November, partially to gain more playing time than he was getting in Anaheim. He appeared in 17 games for the Pirates in which he scored 8 goals and added 25 assists. Along with teammate Corey Perry, Getzlaf shared AHL co-rookie of the month honours for December and while he was named to play in the 2006 AHL All-Star game, Getzlaf did not appear in the contest as he was recalled to Anaheim in mid-January. He completed the season in the NHL, and finished with 14 goals and 39 points in 57 regular season games, then added seven points in 16 post-season contests.

In his sophomore season with the newly renamed Anaheim Ducks, Getzlaf appeared in all 82 regular season games for the team and finished with 25 goals and 58 points. He played in the YoungStars Game at the 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas. At the age of 22 years, Getzlaf joined with Corey Perry (21) and Dustin Penner (24) to form the Ducks' "kid line" which emerged as a top scoring unit during a 2007 playoff run to the Stanley Cup final. Getzlaf led the Ducks in post-season scoring with 17 points, at the time a franchise playoff record, as the Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators in the final series. It was the first Stanley Cup championship in Anaheim's franchise history.

The "kid line" was broken up prior to the 2007–08 season after Penner signed a contract as a restricted free agent with the Edmonton Oilers; however, Getzlaf opted to remain in Anaheim. He signed a five-year, $26.625 million extension that carried through the 2012–13 season. Getzlaf emerged as one of the NHL's top young stars as he played in his first All-Star Game in 2008, and led the Ducks in both assists (58) and points (82).

Getzlaf tied a Ducks franchise record early in the 2008–09 season as he recorded five assists in a 5–4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on October 29, 2008. One of the League's leading scorers, Getzlaf again led the Ducks with a franchise-record 66 assists, and his 91 points was sixth-best in the NHL. He appeared in his second All-Star Game after being voted into the starting line-up for the 2009 contest by the fans. Though the Ducks were eliminated in the second round of the 2009 playoffs, Getzlaf set a franchise playoff record with 14 assists (in 13 games), and finished sixth overall in post-season scoring.

An ankle sprain injury reduced Getzlaf to 66 games played in 2009–10. He still led the Ducks with 50 assists, and was second in team scoring with 69 points. Scott Niedermayer retired as a player following the season, and the Ducks named Getzlaf his successor as team captain prior to the 2010–11 season. Ducks' head coach Randy Carlyle described the promotion of the 25-year-old in terms of Getzlaf's maturation as an NHL player. He added "We felt that with it being his sixth season in the League, now is the time for the transition and the veteran players agreed with us." During the season, he suffered multiple nasal sinus fractures after being struck in the face by a puck, and consequently appeared in only 67 games; he recorded 19 goals. Getzlaf's 57 assists ranked fourth in the NHL and he added six points in six post-season contests, including his 50th career playoff point.

Getzlaf played his 500th career game on March 12, 2012, a 3–2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He played all 82 games for the Ducks in 2011–12 and led the team with 46 assists. Another milestone came late in the 2012–13 season as Getzlaf recorded his 500th point on March 8, 2013, with an assist on a Bobby Ryan goal in a 4–0 win over the Calgary Flames. On the same day, the Ducks signed Getzlaf to an eight-year contract extension that runs through the 2021–22 season and is worth $66 million. He finished the lock-out-shortened campaign as the team leader in assists (34) and points (49), and tied for the team lead with 15 goals.

In 2013–14, Getzlaf recorded a career-high 31 goals and finished second to Sidney Crosby in league scoring with 87 points. Getzlaf was named to the second All-Star team and was a first-time finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. He finished as the runner-up to Crosby.

In the final seconds of Anaheim's opening contest in the 2014 playoffs, against the Dallas Stars, Getzlaf suffered lacerations and bruises after blocking a shot with his face. He returned for the second game of the series, but missed the following two games due an undisclosed "upper body injury". Getzlaf returned for the remainder of his team's playoff run, and recorded 15 points in 12 post-season games before the Ducks were eliminated in the second round by the Los Angeles Kings.

In the 2015 playoffs, Getzlaf tied the previous Ducks record for most assists in a post-season – which he himself set in 2009 – at 14 when he provided the primary assist on teammate Simon Després' game-winning goal in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks on May 22, 2015.

In 2017, Getzlaf was named a finalist for the Mark Messier Leadership Award along with Calgary Flames defencemen Mark Giordano and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno. In the 2017 playoffs, Getzlaf surpassed former teammate Teemu Selänne's franchise record of 35 playoff goals against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the best of seven series. During the Western Conference finals, Getzlaf was fined $10,000 for using a homophobic slur to insult an on-ice official. He later said "That's my responsibility to understand that there are eyes and ears on us all the time. Fortunately enough, nobody heard it. If you can read lips, it's a little bit harder, and I apologize for that. That's a thing that you won't hear from me again. I hope I didn't offend anybody outside the circle that we trust."

Early in the 2017–18 season, Getzlaf was sidelined after a hit in the face by a puck during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes required surgery. He returned from his injury 19 games later, on December 11, to help the Ducks beat the Hurricanes 3–2. The Ducks qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs but were swept by the San Jose Sharks in four games. On April 23, 2018, Getzlaf was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as a player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and gives back to his community; the award went to Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

On July 28, 2021, Getzlaf signed a one-year, $3 million contract to remain with the Ducks, with performance bonuses of up to $1.5 million. On October 31, Getzlaf scored his 989th career NHL point, passing Teemu Selänne as the Ducks' all-time leading scorer, in a 4–2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. On November 16, Getzlaf scored his 1,000th career NHL point, an assist on a goal by Cam Fowler, in a 3–2 overtime win over the Washington Capitals.

On April 5, 2022, Getzlaf announced that he would retire at the end of the 2021–22 season and that his final game would be the last home game of the season for the Ducks on April 24, 2022, against the St. Louis Blues.

Prior to the game on April 24, the Ducks honored Getzlaf with a pregame ceremony during which he was joined at center ice by his wife and four children along with the owners of the Ducks, Henry and Susan Samueli. The Ducks presented Getzlaf with a golf vacation and an off-road vehicle in Ducks team colors, which was driven onto the ice by retired Ducks star Selänne. In the game Getzlaf recorded an assist in a 6–3 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

After the game, Getzlaf was congratulated by his teammates and by every member of the Blues, including former teammate David Perron and fellow Regina native Tyler Bozak, in a moment resembling the handshake line at the end of a playoff series. Afterwards, Getzlaf gave an emotional address to the crowd before taking one final lap around the Honda Center and closing the books on his 17-year career.

Getzlaf ended his career with 282 goals, 737 assists and a total of 1,018 points. As of his retirement date, Getzlaf leads the Ducks in games played, assists, points and assists per game, and also holds the Ducks record for most assists in a season. He is the 35th player since 1980 to play his entire career with one NHL franchise (minimum of 10 seasons) and is only the 11th to play at least 17 seasons with the same team. He is tied for 33rd overall in most games played by a single player for a single franchise.

Career statistics

Bold indicates led league

Source