Not every veteran player can retire like Ray Bourque -- in a blaze of glory, hoisting the Stanley Cup over his head with the whole hockey world rejoicing in his accomplishment.

	Dave Reid, winner of two Cups the past three seasons, doesn't have a place to play ... yet.

In fact, retirement often isn't much of a choice. Sometimes, they simply aren't offered a job, and they silently fall back into normal lives.

That's the situation facing players like John MacLean, Dave Reid, Doug Brown and Larry Murphy. If they don't receive acceptable contract offers, retirement might be the only option, whether they like it or not.

All four might not have had careers as high in profile as Bourque's, but they still earned significant distinctions over their combined 4,604 regular-season games. While Bourque garnered one championship in his 22 seasons, MacLean, Reid, Brown and Murphy have combined for nine.

Sometimes, players leave the game on their own volition, like goaltenders John Vanbiesbrouck and Chris Terreri.

After leaving the dregs of Long Island for Terreri and a draft pick near the trade deadline last season, Vanbiesbrouck compiled a 4-0 record with a 1.50 GAA and .935 save percentage for the then-defending Cup champion Devils. Despite his backup status, Vanbiesbrouck was still considered a starting goaltender in the NHL and would likely have been pursued by another team during the offseason. Instead of continuing his career, and perhaps moving his family for a fifth time, Vanbiesbrouck retired shortly after the Devils lost the Stanley Cup to the Colorado Avalanche.

"I just feel like it's time to pursue other endeavors," Vanbiesbrouck said at the time.

While Vanbiesbrouck retired without winning the Cup, like the players awaiting word on their futures, he had a long career and earned millions of dollars.

"These guys are lucky enough to have played at a good time and made a good living," said Lloyd Friedland, who represents Vanbiesbrouck. "Beezer could have earned significant dollars, but he did it on his own terms."

Officially retiring seems to be a relatively rare occurrence in the NHL. Only three players -- Bourque, Vanbiesbrouck and Terreri -- registered their retirement with the NHL Players Association this summer. Two defensemen -- Paul Coffey, who hasn't played since the Bruins released him in December, and Al Iafrate, who hasn't played since a 21-game stint with the Sharks in 1997-98 -- haven't officially ruled out a return to the NHL.

Terreri began his career as the Devils No. 1 goalie, then flourished as a backup over the past last six years, supporting Martin Brodeur in both of New Jersey's championship seasons (1995, 2000). While Terreri didn't have statistics like Vanbiesbrouck, he could have found work.

"I would have had, probably, chances to play," Terreri said. "Ultimately, it came down to I wasn't going to play a lot of games, and I didn't want to get hit by pucks anymore."

It doesn't bother Terreri that he didn't receive ticker-tape treatment upon his retirement.

"It's the few top guys (who get that), and that's the way it always is," he said. "It all seems inconsequential."

Terreri will return to the Devils organization next season as an assistant coach for the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League. He won't be traveling on charters and making millions, but in the world of post-career opportunities for professional athletes, Terreri did well, landing a few rungs down the coaching ladder from an NHL bench.

"Instead of treading water, I have a new opportunity," he said. "It's something I wanted to try, and I'll go from there. It's a good situation. Going in, I played with Bob Carpenter (Albany's head coach). We're friends, and I feel comfortable.

"I never thought I'd play as long as I did anyway, that's for sure. I'm not a hanger-on. I look forward."

Vanbiesbrouck's future might follow that of Kelly Hrudey -- another Friedland client and former NHL goalie -- to the broadcast booth. Vanbiesbrouck also has partnerships in a Sault St. Marie junior team and a golf course development.

But someone like Reid, who won the Cup with Bourque in Colorado and another with Dallas in 1999, hopes to catch on somewhere and play the 39 games he needs to reach 1,000 for his career.

"That's something that's very important to him," said his agent, Rick Curran, who also represents MacLean. "David had an opportunity to get involved in some coaching, and he declined on both invitations because in his heart, he knows he's capable of playing longer."

According to Curran, there's interest in Reid, but teams might wait until training camp to see if their developing talent is ready for the NHL. Then perhaps, Reid will get a call like he did two years ago when he joined the Avalanche three games into the regular season.

"Teams can use (these) players," Curran said of the unsigned and undecided veterans. "Clubs have young players they've been developing and like to think they can step in and play.

"Reid and MacLean need to be patient."

But if there are no takers, they might simply fade into the hockey woodwork.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com.