Following a 16-year NHL career, Avalanche forward Darren Helm is retiring from the NHL, a source tells Mile High Sports.
Helm, 36, spent 14 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings — the team that drafted him No. 132 overall in 2005 before joining the Avs as a free agent in 2021. Helm won a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in his rookie season in 2008 and another with Colorado in 2022. He was a crucial piece of the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup championship, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the second round against the St. Louis Blues to help the Avs advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time in 20 years. Helm also scored in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and led the postseason in hits with 97 while averaging 11:35 of ice time as Colorado’s fourth-line center.
A native of Saint Andrews, Manitoba, Helm amassed 119 regular-season goals and 266 career points in 823 games. He also had 13 goals and 13 assists in 103 playoff appearances.
Throughout his career, Helm was known for his penalty-killing prowess and speed. He spent nearly a decade as a key depth piece of Detroit’s post-lockout golden era before becoming one of the final depth acquisitions to help Colorado get over the hump. Helm scored 14 career shorthanded goals and had the second-most penalty-killing ice time during his tenure in Detroit.