SAN JOSE – Former San Jose Sharks goalie Aaron Dell officially announced his retirement on Wednesday night after a 13-year professional career that took him through four leagues and almost every corner of North America.
The 36-year-old Dell played 111 of his 130 NHL games with the Sharks, serving mainly as San Jose’s backup goalie between 2016 and 2020, before returning to play four more games with the team during the 2022-23 season.
Dell also spent one season in both the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres organizations. For his NHL career, Dell, a native of Airdrie, Alberta, had a 50-50-13 record and a .905 save percentage.
After playing the 2023-24 season with the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, Dell rejoined the Sharks organization this past season and played a combined 23 games between the Barracuda and the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL.
“After 13 seasons of professional hockey, the time has come for me to hang up the skates and leave my playing days behind me,” Dell wrote on his Instagram account. “I wanted to thank all of the people that believed in me and supported me throughout my career.”
Dell, listed at 6-foot tall, starred at the University of North Dakota from 2009 to 2012 and later helped the Allen (Tex.) Americans capture the Central Hockey League championship in 2012-13.
Dell bounced between the ECHL and the AHL for the next two years, with stops in Salt Lake City and Abbotsford, B.C., before he was given a chance to play for Worcester, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate. He went 15-8-2 during the 2014-15 season.
The Sharks signed Dell in March 2015, and he was on the Barracuda’s roster for its first season in San Jose in 2015-16. He had a 17-16-1 record with a .922 save percentage in 40 games with the Barracuda that year, and became the Sharks’ backup goalie to Martin Jones the following season.
Dell won his NHL debut on Oct. 18, 2016, stopping 21 of 23 shots as the Sharks beat the New York Islanders 3-2 at the Barclays Center. Over the next four seasons with the Sharks, Dell went 48-34-12 with a .908 save percentage. He also had an .891 save percentage in four career NHL playoff games with San Jose.
“Lots of ups and downs,” Dell wrote. “An undrafted, 6-foot-tall goalie who was given a chance by the San Jose Sharks organization. When I look at some of the names I had the privilege of working with, like (Evgeni) Nabokov, (Joe) Thornton, (Joe) Pavelski, (Patrick) Marleau, (Logan) Couture, (Erik) Karlsson, (Brent) Burns, and so many great players that I will always consider friends, I feel very fortunate.
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“I want to thank all the on and off-ice staff, as well as my teammates that I’ve worked with throughout the past 13 years. I also want to thank the fans, but mostly I want to thank my wife, Nicolette, who stood by me during this wild roller coaster ride, traveling all over the country so that I could continue to live my dream.
“I hope I’ve made an impact with some of the young players I played with still chasing their dreams. Without the belief and support of my family, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not sure what the future holds for me now, but my number one priority will be being a father and a husband. On to the next chapter.”
