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After 15 seasons, Pandolfo officially calls it a career

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James

One of the better defensive forwards to ever play for New Jersey is hanging up the skates.

Jay Pandolfo formally announced his retirement on Thursday, ending a 15-year NHL career highlighted by a pair of Stanley Cup championships with the Devils in 2000 and 2003. He had previously told CSNNE.com of his plans to retire back in December.

“I was very fortunate to live my dream of playing in the NHL. I was lucky to be part of three great organizations and would like to thank the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins,” Pandolfo said, via the NHLPA. “I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches and staff for all the memorable experiences together. I’d especially like to thank my family for all the support they have given me throughout my career.”

A Selke finalist in 2006-07, Pandolfo carved his niche as an effective checking winger that teamed with John Madden on some of New Jersey’s best penalty-killing units. But Pandolfo could also chip in on offense, scoring 12 points in 24 games en route to the ’03 Stanley Cup.

“I thought he was the most underrated as a player as far as what he brought to our team,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said (Julien coached Pandolfo in New Jersey). “Everybody would talk about Madden killing penalties, but [Pandolfo] was Madden’s partner on the PK. There were a lot of times I saw him being ‘the guy’ on that penalty kill, and making it all work.

“If you want to be successful at that then you really need to take pride in your job, and that’s something Jay always did.”

After parting ways with the Devils in 2010, Pandolfo spent one year playing for the Islanders and one more playing for Boston. His final stint with the Bruins held special meaning as Pandolfo was born in Massachusetts and played college hockey for Boston University.