Gary Roberts has played 30 games with Tampa Bay this season. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The remarkable NHL career of Gary Roberts is likely coming to an end after the veteran cleared waivers earlier this week.

Roberts, 42, was not claimed by another club after being put on waivers ahead of the trade deadline on Wednesday. He has been absent from the Lightning in the two days since.

Roberts signed a one-year deal with Tampa last summer for $1.25 million US. He scored four goals and three assists in 30 games.

Lightning general manager Brian Lawton told XM Radio on Friday that Roberts was taking a couple of days to "think about things."

Lawton said earlier in the week the club would not send Roberts to the American Hockey League, where he played just 45 games at the beginning of his career before establishing his NHL career with the Calgary Flames.

Tampa Bay is eager to get a look at its younger players and acquisitions from the deadline.

Roberts has scored 438 goals and 471 assists in 1,224 games in his NHL career, nearly half of his goals coming after a first retirement in the mid-1990s due to a serious neck injury.

The Toronto native ranks 60th all-time in goals and 88th in points. He also racked up 2,560 penalty minutes, 18th most in league history.

His best season statistically came in 1991-92, when he scored 53 goals and added 37 assists.

Roberts retired in 1996 after playing just 43 games over the previous two seasons. He encountered nerve damage in his neck, which affected the use of his arms.

After undergoing two lengthy surgeries, he came back in 1997-98 for the first of three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, also playing four with the Toronto Maple Leafs and nearly two with the Florida Panthers.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, he reached the Stanley Cup final for the first time since winning with the Flames in 1989.