Tyler Ennis is calling it a career.

The NHL veteran of 700 games, 39 of which played with his hometown Edmonton Oilers, has opted to hang up his skates after trying to continue his hockey career.

Ennis, 34, had signed with the DEL’s Alder Mannheim this season, playing under another former Oiler in their head coach, Dallas Eakins, where he appeared in seven games, scoring five assists.

But on Wednesday, news broke that Ennis was terminating his contract early due to a “serious neck injury” suffered in a Nov. 21st, 2023 game.

“After working hard to get healthy with our great team, I ultimately decided to quit hockey,” Ennis said in a team release. “I would like to thank Mr. Hopp, my teammates, the coaches, our medical staff and, of course, our great fans for their support. I will continue to cheer on the Adler Mannheim vigorously in the future.”

Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 26th overall in the 2008 NHL draft, Ennis played nearly a decade out east where he donned an “A” in his final two seasons there between 2015 and 2017. He spent the 2017-18 campaign with the Minnesota Wild, before the following year saw him play with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ahead of the 2019-20 season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ennis inked a deal with the Ottawa Senators, before being traded to the Oilers later that season, scoring five goals and 13 points in 39 games. He resigned with the Sens in 2021-22, but spent last season with the Swiss National League’s SC Bern, scoring 13 goals and 24 points in 57 games.

“Yesterday morning, Tyler informed me that he was retiring from hockey,” said Eakins. “At first I was surprised, but after talking to him for about two hours, I fully understand and support his decision. We were impressed with Tyler’s dedication and commitment to recovering from his injury.

“Tyler’s experience, work ethic and personality will be missed in our locker room and our organization. We are proud of Tyler for following his heart and making this brave, personal decision. Tyler has built an amazing career through hard work and persistence.

“These great qualities will serve Tyler well in his next chapter. We have Tyler’s back and will always be there for him,”

The Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks are getting a snow day.

Citing travel restrictions in the Buffalo area as they continued to get pounded by multiple feet of snow, the league bumped the game back a day to now be played on Thursday.

It’s not the first sports game to be restricted in the area in recent days, either, as the NFL’s Buffalo Bills had to have their Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers pushed back from Sunday afternoon, to Monday afternoon earlier this week.

The Bills went so far as to hire hundreds of fans to help shovel out their stadium in nearby Orchard Park, offering up $20 USD per hour and free food. Not a bad deal for the Bills Mafia, to say the least.

Back in 1987, an infamous game between the hometown New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames took place, where a mere 344 fans attended the game. Why, you may ask? A similar massive snowfall forced played like Devils defenceman Ken Daneyko five hours to drive 35 km to Meadowlands Arena.

In recent years, the league hasn’t hesitated to postpone games like what was to be today’s between the Sabres and Blackhawks, and rightly so.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.