Former Ottawa Senator Forward (And Emergency Backup Goalie) Announces His Retirement
Arty's NHL Party is over.
After 13 seasons in the National Hockey League, former Ottawa Senator forward Artem Anisimov has announced his retirement.
The 36-year-old, affectionately known as "Arty Party," now closes the book on a 771-game NHL career. Anisimov had 180 goals and 376 points over a long NHL tour of duty with the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, and Ottawa Senators.
Last season, Anisimov played for the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, where he played 18 games before being released from his contract in February.
Anisimov arrived in Ottawa in a 2019 trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Zack Smith. The big Russian's final season in the NHL was 2020-21, when he recorded two goals and nine points in 19 games with the Sens.
Anisimov will probably best be remembered in Ottawa for the night he suited up to be the emergency backup goalie for the Senators. Near the end of the 2020-21 season, Anisimov was a healthy scratch for a game in Vancouver when the Sens ran into injury trouble in goal.
Anton Forsberg was already hurt, so Matt Murray started the game, and Marcus Forsberg was his backup. When Murray got hurt that night, as he so often did, Anisimov threw on the gear and would have been the emergency goalie if something happened to Hogberg.
After Anton Forsberg and Matt Murray both went down with injuries, the @Senators dressed Artem Anisimov as an emergency backup. He can be seen here wearing Forsberg’s gear. (Un)Fortunately he wasn’t needed to play.
📸: @artemanisimov15 (IG)#GoalieGearNerd pic.twitter.com/9oUMFu1LFV— Goalie Gear Nerd (@GoalieGearNerd) April 25, 2021
Alas, Hogberg made it through that game in one piece, and the Arty Party never got started.
Anisimov made his retirement official with this post on Instagram late last week.
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"Time to make it official. I gave hockey my all as a player and decided to hang up the skates. I have been blessed to have a wonderful career, playing alongside many hockey legends on the biggest hockey stages and making a lot of good friends along the way. I never took that experience for granted.
"I am not a big social media person and usually a man of very few words publicly, but I just wanted to take time to thank everyone - my teammates and coaches throughout the years, all the staff (you guys are the best) from the teams I have played for, organizations I have been a part of, and of course, the fans.
"Thank you all for your support! Arty Party will live on!"
Related: Ottawa Senators: How a Wasp Sting Nearly Cost Ottawa its NHL Franchise
