NHL's First Hispanic Player, Two-Time Stanley Cup Winner, And Great American Scott Gomez Retires After 16 Seasons
After 16 NHL seasons (17 professional in all) that included two Stanley Cups and also repping the U.S. internationally, the NHL’s first Hispanic player as well as the first player from Alaska, Scott Gomez, retired at the age of 36. The beloved and perpetually smiling ‘Gomer’ had a path to NHL stardom as unlikely as any guy who preceded him.
Growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, the son of a Mexican-American dad and Colombian mom, Gomez was the 27th overall pick in the 1998 draft and took home the Calder Trophy in 2000 as the NHL’s best rookie while also winning a Cup. Prior to Gomez, there hadn’t been a player of Hispanic descent OR an Alaskan in the NHL. He essentially kicked in two doors while holding the Cup over his head.
He added another Cup in ’03, played three more years for the Devils, and then cashed in like a mofo when the blood rivals across the Hudson gave him a 7 year/$51M deal that had jaws dropping across the continent. But the Rags only kept him for two years before swindling Ryan McDonagh from Montreal for Gomez (and more importanly, his salary). After petering out as a Hab, he made pit stops in San Jose, Florida, back to Jersey, St. Louis, and Ottawa before calling it quits.
Gomez also wore the red, white, and blue a handful of times as a World Junior, an Olympian, and World Cup participant. He’s also one of the most well-liked NHL teammates in the last 15 years and a guy you never hear a bad word about. Oh, and he was pretty goddamn good and a hell of a set-up man for a decade.
Though his impact on-ice wasn’t majorly significant in the last couple of seasons (as happens to NHL players in their mid-30s), his impact off it continued to reverberate as we see increases in the number of Latino/Hispanic players in the league, making the timing of his retirement more fitting. With Auston Matthews set to light the league on fire this year, Gomez is passing the torch onto a kid who is also half-Mexican and will serve as inspiration for some kid out there who was told by some asshole that “Spanish* people don’t play hockey”.
(*—“Spanish” is the go-to word for white people when describing anybody who speaks Spanish, regardless of nationality. Or speaks Portuguese.)
Gomez finishes his NHL career with 181-575–756 totals in 1079 games, two Stanley Cup rings, a Calder Trophy, and two All-Star Game appearances. He also quietly leaves a wall-breaking legacy and a reminder that hockey is for everyone. Enjoy retirement, Gomer. You earned it.
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