Zac Dalpe was a journeyman in every sense of the word. His travels throughout a 15-year professional career spanned the North American continent from Vancouver to South Florida. After 742 games played between the AHL and NHL, Dalpe is hanging up the skates.

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The 35-year-old Paris, Ontario native called it a career in a heartfelt open letter posted by the Charlotte Checkers, the team with which he spent the first few seasons and the last four seasons of his professional career.

“I’m proud of what I got to do, but more importantly I’m so proud of who I got to do it with,” Dalpe wrote. “I appreciate every single person that was along for the greatest ride of my life. A Canadian kid got to be a hockey player for 15 years. In the beautiful words of Gord Downie - I got to go, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

Dalpe appeared in 574 regular-season games over his AHL career, posting 329 points including 220 goals. He also played in 47 games during the Calder Cup Playoffs. 

He started his pro career after two seasons at Ohio State with the Albany River Rats for a nine-game stint. Dalpe played parts of seven seasons with Charlotte, first as a second-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes from 2010 to 2013, and returned as part of the Florida Panthers organization in 2021 to 2025.

In between those Charlotte stints, Dalpe played for the Utica Comets, Rochester Americans, Iowa Wild and Cleveland Monsters in the AHL. He also saw NHL action with the Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers.

He was part of Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023, where they fell just short against the Vegas Golden Knights before winning the next two titles.

This past season, Dalpe was limited to just nine games with the Checkers due to injury, but remained with the team throughout the season which culminated in a run to the Calder Cup Finals, where the Checkers finished as runners up.

Dalpe was named captain for the Eastern Conference All-Stars by AHL President and CEO Scott Howson in recognition for his outstanding leadership and service.

The path Dalpe took in his pro career was far from easy, but he certainly made the most of it, getting many opportunities with a half dozen NHL teams because of his work ethic and what he could be at the top of his game. 

“One thing is for certain is that I never took a day off,” Dalpe wrote. “I am by no means trying to sound like a ‘hero’ by saying that. But every single day I tried to become a better hockey player. Every movement or decision I made, I tried to look at it through the eyes of a hockey player. I worked as hard as I possibly could. I owe so much to the game and everything that comes with it. Another thing I know for certain is that I tried to be the best teammate I could and I also never took a day off from that. When my name gets brought up in the future I just hope that those two things are attached to it. Nothing ever came natural to me. It was all hard work.”

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