After one Olympic gold, three silver medals and nearly a two-decade career with Team USA, Hilary Knight is hanging up her skates after the Milan Cortina Games. 

However, like many other superstars who have come before her, she doesn’t want to simply ride off into the sunset. Knight’s desire is to go out on top. She wants her 'happily ever after.'

Another gold medal would be awesome. I would like to go out from my Olympic career on a high note, sort of that storybook ending.

By all numerical accounts, and even without flipping to the final page, the 36-year-old already has solidified her place in history. Since 2006, her run with the U.S. women’s hockey team has been nothing short of magical. And in true main character form, she appears to be closing the book at her peak. 

In April, the acting captain led Team USA to a world title over Canada. The gold-medal win was Knight’s tenth, the most ever by any hockey player. In the process, she broke the all-time assist record and now reigns supreme in all-time goals, points and assists in the IIHF Women’s World Championships. To add the cherry on top, Knight was named the 2025 USA Hockey Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year. 

Despite all the personal accolades, shattered records and shiny hardware, the soft-spoken Knight knows she didn’t get here alone. “From the youth coach who took a chance on me because girls weren’t necessarily playing boys hockey. There’s the behind-the-scenes moments of all the people it took to get me, as well as every single individual, into that position.”

It's not surprising that the Olympian, who started playing with Team USA when she was just 17, has a long list of thank yous. It includes her coaches, family and the hockey community as a whole. Knight also is keenly aware that though she and many others have dedicated their lives to hockey careers, the sport has paid dividends in return. "I wouldn’t have been able to have such a fantastic education without hockey, being able to go to the University of Wisconsin and fulfill that dream there, travel the world. It’s crazy where sport can take you and I am so, so grateful for this entire journey," Knight said.

Understandably, after such an incredible ride, the decision to retire didn’t come easy for Knight. It never seems to for most elite athletes whose lives and identities are tied to a sport for so long. In fact, it took Michael Jordan retiring three times before he finally could call it quits, Tom Brady and Brett Favre twice. Knight felt a similar reluctancy. She said when the retirement conversation first came up, she felt “really uncomfortable” and didn’t want to put a limit on anything. 

So much of us are wrapped in the Olympics for so long and we love it, and it gives us structure in the training and all the people you meet, and all the awesome things that come with being in the Olympic space and the thought of not having that was really scary at first.

It's worth noting that unlike Jordan, Brady and Favre, Knight only is retiring from Olympic competition but said she still plans to continue playing in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Regardless, the bulk of Knight’s hockey career has been representing the U.S. since the PWHL only began competition in 2024. On her tenure with Team USA, she admits, “Did I ever think I would be doing this for this long? Absolutely not.”

Knight joined Team USA after the 2006 Olympic cycle. The 17-year-old was determined to absorb everything from how her fellow teammates trained to what allowed them to operate and compete at such an elite level. She knew then that she wanted to be at this level for a very long time. “Fortunately, I got that opportunity,” Knight said. 

Despite the difficult decision to retire, the 36-year-old was able to find peace and comfort after considering the full picture of her life. “The commitment in signing up for the quad and that’s super daunting. I was just thinking of life cycles and my human capacity, where I’m going to be in life and do I want to start a family?” Knight said.

While she doesn’t know exactly what her future holds, she knows signing up for the 2030 Olympic cycle isn’t in the cards. Some good news for fans though, she did leave the door open to other international competition. "I would love to be a part of the U.S. team for world championships in the near future," Knight said.

But, before a look toward the future, Knight graciously guides a trip down memory lane. The path to her scoring records began, of course, with her first-ever Team USA goal. Knight first lit the lamp in the stars and stripes at the 2007 IIHF Women’s World Championships. She remembers the “dream come true moment” simply: she tapped the puck in after veteran Angela Ruggiero hit it off the boards. “Ange immediately when I joined the team, she took me under her wing, really just showed me the ropes and corralled sort of this little kid energy,” Knight said.

However, Knight’s inner child couldn’t be contained after her first taste of Olympic competition in 2010. “I felt like a kid in the candy shop. I feel like I slept with a smile on my face permanently at the Olympics. And every day I woke up I was like 'This is the best day ever,'” Knight said. Even though the team came up short after losing the gold medal game to Canada, she knew they would be back.

In 2014, Knight earned her second silver medal in Sochi, as Canada went back-to-back. But in 2018, they partied like it was…1998. She helped bring home Olympic gold in women’s hockey for the first time in 20 years. “Just a dream come true. We went up and put everything on the line and showed up and competed and were able to win in the fashion that we did. Celebrating 2018 was a lot of fun with that group. I can’t really share but, we kicked it off the right way,” Knight quipped. 

After collecting her third silver in Beijing, Knight is ready for the ultimate going away party at Milan Cortina 2026 — winning Olympic gold. “Capturing a gold medal, your legacy is remembered. We celebrate those victories differently. To be a part of another group to be able to do that and have an opportunity to do that would be amazing,” Knight said.

In a full-circle moment for Knight, she understands winning it all on the world’s biggest stage isn’t about the epic festivities or even the medal itself, it’s about the impact on the future. 

I just understand what a gold medal does for the sport of hockey in the U.S. and all those young girls just looking up to us, just because we won a tournament. If you think about how that works, the visibility is super important.

Though gold is the goal, the ever-humble Knight is quick to remind everyone that she still needs to make the Olympic roster, which is expected to be announced in January. If Knight competes as expected, she will become the first U.S. hockey player to participate in five Olympic Games. On top of that, if she earns her fifth medal in any color, she’ll tie the record for the most hockey medals in history.

Knight’s victory lap begins Feb. 5, 2026 against Czechia at the Milano Rho ice hockey arena.