Winger Jamal Mayers announced his National Hockey League retirement Friday after getting his named etched on the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It really has been an amazing experience to have had the chance to play 14 seasons in the NHL, and finish it all off last season as a part of the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup,” Mayers told the Associated Press.

In a telephone interview with ESPN Friday, Mayers said “If you had asked me two years ago, ‘Would I announce my retirement,’ I would have said ‘No.'”

“The only reason this was necessary was to give thanks to everyone who got me there and helped me stay there,” Mayers told ESPN. “To my family and friends, it’s just saying thanks. That’s what it means to me.”

A former Western Michigan University standout, Mayers registered 90 goals, 129 assists and 1,200 penalty minutes in 915 regular season games with the St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames and Blackhawks.

The 39-year-old Toronto native was drafted 89th overall by the Blues in the 1993 NHL draft. He was part of an inaugural class of young Toronto-area players to participate in the Skillz hockey program. That class included former NHLers Anson Carter and Kevin Weekes.