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Kariya, victim of concussions, retires

Paul Kariya, then with the St. Louis Blues, waves to the crowd during a ceremony before a game against the Dallas Stars at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, April 3, 2010, honoring him for scoring his 400th career goal. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Paul Kariya, then with the St. Louis Blues, waves to the crowd during a ceremony before a game against the Dallas Stars at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, April 3, 2010, honoring him for scoring his 400th career goal. UPI/Bill Greenblatt | License Photo

ST. LOUIS, June 29 (UPI) -- Paul Kariya, a seven-time all-star who sat out the 2010-11 season hoping to recover from a series of concussions, announced his retirement Wednesday.

Kariya, who was selected fourth in the 1993 draft by Anaheim, most recently played with St. Louis.

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He scored 402 goals and had 989 points in 989 games over a 15-year career.

"Today, I announce my retirement from professional hockey," Kariya said in a statement released by his agent. "I would like to thank all of those who have been part of so many great memories -- my teammates, coaches, team management and staff."

Although his statement did not mention the concussions that forced him from the game, Kariya told the Toronto Globe and Mail the NHL needed to do more to prevent head injuries.

"If you want to get rid of it, I'm a believer that you don't go after the employees, you go after the employers," Kariya told the newspaper. "The first concussion I had, on a brutal, blindside hit, the guy got a two-game suspension.

"That was in 1996. The last one was exactly the same play and he doesn't get anything.

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"If you start at a 10-game suspensions and go to 20, that sends a message to the players. But if you start fining the owners and suspending the coach, then it's out of the game."

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