27-year-old former Leaf forced into early retirement
One of the best stories during the summer of 2021 was the Leafs offering Josh Ho-Sang a PTO, which ultimately turned into a contract with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. Ho-Sang, who was long criticized for his attitude, seemed to have really turned over a new leaf following his short stint in Sweden in 2020-21.
After years of believing he didn't get a fair shake on Long Island, Ho-Sang got a shot in Toronto and did what he could to make the most of it. Unfortunately, since there was no roster spot available for him with the Leafs, he embraced the chance to play at home and be a Marlie, which even led to him receiving an invite to play for Team Canada at the 2022 Olympics.
While an injury halted his 2021-22 season with the Marlies, limiting him to just 47 games, Ho-Sang acquitted himself quite well in the AHL, scoring 16 goals and 35 points over that span. While he couldn't turn his success into an NHL contract last year, he did manage to find a deal playing in the KHL for Ufa Salavat Yulayev - the same team with which 2020 1st round pick Rodion Amirov had played before unfortunately being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Ho-Sang played just 1 game for Ufa last season and missed the remainder of the season due to injury. Now, on Wednesday, it appears as though his injuries have caught up to him as it has been announced that Ho-Sang's playing career is over at the age of 27.
Some truly unfortunate news, but for Ho-Sang, it was nice to see him pull a complete 180-degree turnaround with his attitude during his time in Toronto. It was very easy to root for him and while it may not have worked out the way anyone had hoped, at least his run in Toronto led to an opportunity to play in the Olympics, which is one hell of a career accomplishment.
Ho-Sang's NHL career will come to an abrupt end with just 53 games under his belt. He was able to rack up a respectable 24 points during his NHL career.
Best of luck to Josh in whatever comes next for him.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 5 | 372 ANSWERS 27-year-old former Leaf forced into early retirement So you believe Josh Ho-Sang ever really got a fair shake in the NHL? | ||
| No | 221 | 59.4 % |
| Yes, on Long Island | 83 | 22.3 % |
| Yes, in Toronto | 68 | 18.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
