Ballard, Leopold leaning toward retirement

Veteran defensemen Keith Ballard and Jordan Leopold, free agents after their contracts expired with the Minnesota Wild, have likely played their final games in the NHL.

Neither has officially filed retirement papers, the Star Tribune's Michael Russo reports, but they're leaning that way.

Ballard, 32, only played 14 games last season, and didn't play after suffering a concussion on Dec. 9, which left him convulsing on the ice in a scary scene.

"I’m just trying to get healthy," he said. "If I make a full recovery from this one, I’ll chalk it up to good luck. But I admit, if I’m hit like this again, I’m a little freaked out about what would happen the next time."

Ballard's 10-year career saw him play in Phoenix, Florida, Vancouver, and Minnesota, scoring 38 goals and added 137 assists in 604 games.

Leopold, 35, played in 43 games last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Wild, scoring a goal and adding three assists. While his retirement papers haven't been signed, his agent isn't making calls to any teams. He's busy, though, opening up an events and wedding center on the Mississippi in Brooklyn Park, MN.

Leopold was the talk of last year's trade deadline, after he was traded to Minnesota from Columbus. His 11-year-old daughter wrote a letter to the Wild, which went viral, saying her father was very lonely without his family, and asking Minnesota to talk to Columbus about a potential trade.

Leopold's 12-year career saw him play 695 games for eight teams, totaling 214 points.