St. Andrews, Manitoba’s Own Darren Helm Retires From the NHL

Darren Helm, born in St. Andrews, Manitoba, has enjoyed three seasons in the Western Hockey League and 16 seasons in the National Hockey League. Drafted in the fifth round at 132nd overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Darren Helm has enjoyed an illustrious career that stands above many others.

Darren Helm’s junior career started with the Selkirk Fishermen of the Keystone Junior Hockey League. Helm led the KJHL in scoring for the 2003-04 season with 73 points in 34 games, this helped the Selkirk Fishermen capture a league championship. Helm would also appear in six games for the Selkirk Steelers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Helm would leave the 2003-04 season on a high note and commit to the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, which began a three-year career at the major junior hockey level. After Helm’s 24-point rookie season (10 goals and 14 assists) with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Helm was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings.

Darren Helm enjoyed a great WHL career capped off with a World Junior Championship U20 Gold Medal and a WHL Championship. Helm was also named to the CHL Memorial Cup All-Star and WHL East Second All-Star Team. In Helm’s 16 NHL seasons, he spent 14 with the Detroit Red Wings and two with the Colorado Avalanche. Darren Helm played 823 career games scoring 119 goals and 147 assists for 266 total points. Darren Helm would sign his entry-level contract on Wednesday, September 27th, 2006, but Helm returned to the Medicine Hat Tigers for his third and final WHL season in 2006-07. Helm was a massive contributor to the Medicine Hat Tigers’ success that season as they defeated the Vancouver Giants in a seven-game series to capture the franchise’s fifth Ed Chynoweth Cup. The Medicine Hat Tigers were also the runner-up in the 2007 Memorial Cup Finals.

Darren Helm was known for his penalty-killing abilities and speed. Post-lockout, Helm was a key depth piece for nearly a decade for the Detroit Red Wings. During his tenure in Detroit, Helm had amassed the second-most penalty-killing ice time, which also led him to score 14 career shorthanded goals. In his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings, Helm scored his first NHL goal on Saturday, May 10th, 2008, against the Dallas Stars during game two of the Western Conference Finals. Later in Helm’s career, he scored his first career hat trick on Saturday, March 29th, 2014, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

To cap off Darren Helm’s incredible career, he won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in his rookie season (2007-08) and went back to the Stanley Cup Finals the following season. Helm, who was available at the 2022 NHL trade deadline, was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche, where he would win his second and final Stanley Cup Championship in the 2021-22 season.

The 36-year-old forward came to the decision on July 5th, 2023, after a long and decorated career, to hang up his skates and retire from the world of professional hockey. Congratulations to Darren Helm on a successful career in the National Hockey League and the world of professional hockey.