Eriah Hayes, a former right winger for the San Jose Sharks, has announced his retirement from the sport of hockey through a heartfelt statement posted to his personal Twitter account on Tuesday morning.
Hayes took the 2016-2017 season off from playing professional hockey to recover from injuries sustained the previous season, which included a skull fracture. Before his hiatus, Hayes had played for the Chicago Wolves (AHL) after becoming an unrestricted free agent from the Sharks at the end of the 2014-15 season.
In his two-season tenure with the Sharks from 2013-15, Hayes played 19 games and scored his first and only NHL goal in a 4-1 defeat to Calgary on January 30, 2014.