J.T. Brown retires from hockey to be Seattle Kraken TV analyst

Former Wild winger J.T. Brown retired from hockey Monday to become the first television analyst for the expansion Seattle Kraken.

Brown, 30, was the most outstanding player of the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four when he led Minnesota Duluth to its first championship. One of the NHL's most active leaders in awareness of social justice issues, he played parts of six seasons for Tampa Bay, was briefly in Anaheim, then was with the Wild organization from 2018-20.

"My dream was always to make it to the NHL, and once I got there, I knew I wanted to make it easier for kids like me," Brown wrote on Twitter. "I'm excited … to continue to do the work that needs to be done to make hockey more inclusive."

Brown had 23 goals in 365 NHL games, 56 of which came for the Wild in 2018-19. The son of former Vikings running back Ted Brown, he played for Bjorkloven, in Sweden, last season.

"It was a really big decision to hang up the skates and retire from the only thing I've known for about the last 25 years," Brown said in a Twitter video. "I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of, and I'm excited for this next chapter. I have new goals and a lot more memories to make."

A high school standout at Rosemount, Brown was undrafted and played two seasons in the USHL before heading for UMD. After two seasons there, he was signed as a free agent by the Lightning.

Brown will join ROOT Sports Northwest and TV play-by-play announcer John Forslund when the Kraken begins play in September. The Kraken's Everett Fitzhugh will be the first fulltime Black play-by-play radio announcer next season.