Steve Staios, a veteran defenceman of 18 seasons in the NHL, announced his retirement as an active player on Wednesday. The Hamilton, Ontario native played in 1,001 career regular season games and 33 more in the NHL postseason from 1995 to 2012. He has accepted a position with the Maple Leafs as Player Development Advisor. "I am very excited about joining the Toronto Maple Leafs management team," said Staios. "I'm looking forward to doing everything I can to help the team have success. The time is right for me and my family to step away from the game that I love to play and move on to a new chapter in my life. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Brian Burke and Dave Nonis and learn from their experience and knowledge."