Enforcer Ryan Reaves retires; just 3 visor-less NHL players left

Ryan Reaves announced Wednesday he is retiring from hockey at age 39 after playing more than a decade and a half in the NHL.

Reaves skated in 1,075 games from his debut in 2010 through last season, racking up 1,253 penalty minutes while playing for St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Vegas, the New York Rangers, Minnesota and Toronto. His 3,225 hits rank seventh on the all-time list.

The tough-guy forward, listed at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, announced his retirement in an Instagram post. "Unfortunately, Father Time remains undefeated," Reaves wrote. "Every hit, every fight -- it's taken its final toll on me. I love this sport more than almost anything in this world. It has taken me to places I never thought I'd go and has introduced me to people I'll cherish for the rest of my life. The fans, the haters, the ups, the downs.

Reaves added: "I never thought this day would come. I thought I was invincible. I thought I could play forever, but like all good things, it must come to an end." He closed the post with, "You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today. Mic drop, gloves drop. Reavo out."

A Winnipeg, Manitoba, native, Reaves was a fifth-round pick of the Blues in 2005 and grinded through several years in the minors before earning a call-up for his toughness and eventually leadership that helped him stick at the highest level of the sport.