Peter Mueller officially announced his retirement from professional hockey on Sunday.

For longtime Avalanche fans, Mueller will always be remembered as a player that could’ve been way more than what he ended up being.

The Avs acquired Mueller at the 2010 trade deadline in a pretty big trade that sent Wojtek Wolski the other way. Colorado also received Kevin Porter in that deal.

Mueller went on to be one of the best trade deadline acquisitions in NHL history. In fact, he still holds the record for the most points by a player acquired on trade deadline day. He had nine goals, 11 assists, and 20 points in just 15 games for Colorado after the trade while playing on a line with center Matt Duchene and winger Milan Hejduk.

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But what makes his story complicated was what came next. Mueller could’ve added to those point totals and probably would’ve. But in that 15th game, a night where he already had two goals and an assist against the San Jose Sharks, Mueller’s season came to an end.

The then 21-year-old was slammed into the boards behind the net at Pepsi Center by former Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake and suffered a concussion. He was removed from that game, missed the last bit of the regular season, the six-game playoff series loss against the Sharks, and the entire 2010-11 season.

And he was never the same again.

Colorado still signed him to a two-year extension that summer despite knowing that his career was in jeopardy. That’s how highly they thought of him.

Mueller returned midway through the 2011-12 season, appearing in 32 games for the Avs and posting 16 points. He then had a 43-game stint with the Florida Panthers in the lockout shortened 2013 season before moving on to Europe.

Mueller played in Switzerland, Sweden, Czechia, and Germany. He won championships and was a point per game player in the Czech league in 2024-25. He even had a 56-game AHL stint with the Providence Bruins in 2016-17.

It’s nice to see he was able to rebound from the concussion to get his career back on track. But I’ll always wonder where he’d be had the Blake hit not happened. Mueller was electric in those 15 games and became an instant fan favorite. He was young, full of talent, and may have been a longtime piece of the Avs’ lineup.

Regardless, kudos on a great professional career. The now 37-year-old got to call his own shots and retire on his terms, and that in itself is an accomplishment for any pro athlete.


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