[News] Brent Seabrook announces he is unable to continue playing and calls it a career

[sureLoss]

https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/news/...ns/c-322133900

[DJones]

Chicago dodges another one.

Good career though, he used to be really good.

[3thirty]

While I wish him all the best and he had a great career, Chicago is really lucky to get out of his 6.875 million cap hit for the next 3.5 years...

[undercoverbrother]

Count down to him popping up in the Hawks front office in 3, 2, ....

[OutOfTheCube]

Weird decision though right? Surely he could've just got the doctor to declare him unfit to play and he goes on LTIR, cashing $7 million checks every year while being unofficially 'retired'.

[sureLoss]

I doubt he is "officially" retiring. The Blackhawks announced he was put on LTIR before his retirement announcement

They still will have to deal with his caphit and pay him. He just won't play a game ever again.

It is LTIRetirement and they will have to use LTIR space to benefit..

Similar to the Hossa situation but Seabrook still has some significant salary and signing bonuses still left to be paid out.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Weird decision though right? Surely he could've just got the doctor to declare him unfit to play and he goes on LTIR, cashing $7 million checks every year while being unofficially 'retired'.

Oh I'm pretty sure he will still go on LTIR and get his money. I think the retirement word is being used as he's done playing hockey. Officially, he's on LTIR for the length of his contract.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

While I wish him all the best and he had a great career, Chicago is really lucky to get out of his 6.875 million cap hit for the next 3.5 years...

For sure, but Seabrook was still a pretty good player until serious injuries made him ineffective. He would have been worth some of that cap hit if healthy.

[GreenLantern2814]

Lol @ the disbelief of a guy who played 15 years in the National Hockey League with three cups having the audacity to retire due to injury.

You try it.

[browntrout]

Out of curiousity, I wonder what the insurance cost premiums are for the player to pay with a LTIR, like around 30 million, that s a great retirement payout

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Lol @ the disbelief of a guy who played 15 years in the National Hockey League with three cups having the audacity to retire due to injury.

You try it.

No kidding.

Over 1200 NHL games on his resume, its hardly a stretch to believe that his body simply cant do it any more.

Really good player for a lot of years.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

I doubt he is "officially" retiring. The Blackhawks announced he was put on LTIR before his retirement announcement

They still will have to deal with his caphit and pay him. He just won't play a game ever again.

It is LTIRetirement and they will have to use LTIR space to benefit..

Similar to the Hossa situation but Seabrook still has some significant salary and signing bonuses still left to be paid out.

I hate this. This is cap circumvention. If Seabrook cant play, he should retire. he shouldnt get all of the money still while being camped on IR. The hawks need some sort of penalty enforced against this.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I'm sure they would consider it, but first, it's Chicago, and they already let them get away with the Hossa thing. Second, other teams have done it too and without a peep from the league - most notably the Maple Leafs (there's a reason this is called "Robidas Island").

The only team that actually has to deal with cap penalties, rather than getting around them or having the league bail them out, is Vancouver... which is fairly hilarious.

[Oling_Roachinen]

It’s only cap circumvention if he can play. If he can’t, then it’s using the rules exactly as intended. Also lol at arguing someone should walk away from money they are entitled to because they got hurt on the job.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I hate this. This is cap circumvention. If Seabrook cant play, he should retire. he shouldnt get all of the money still while being camped on IR. The hawks need some sort of penalty enforced against this.

My initial gut reaction is always that of how convenient this is for the team in question.

But the reality is, this guy put his body on the line and was hurt at his job. He deserves every penny of that contract.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I hate this. This is cap circumvention. If Seabrook cant play, he should retire. he shouldnt get all of the money still while being camped on IR. The hawks need some sort of penalty enforced against this.

It would actually behoove the Hawks if Seabrook retired outright. In this case, LTIR protects the player, not the team, since they still sort of have to deal with his contract.

[Buff]

I have to give him the credit he deserves. He was a well thought of prospect and a fan favorite during his time in Lethbridge in his WHL years. Initially I liked him. However, I saw some warts in his game and I didn't think he was ever going to make the NHL for more than just a cup of coffee. He proved me wrong and had a long and very good NHL career.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I hate this. This is cap circumvention. If Seabrook cant play, he should retire. he shouldnt get all of the money still while being camped on IR. The hawks need some sort of penalty enforced against this.

Huh?

That's what IR is for. He can't play because he is permanently injured. And he got permanently injured playing hockey. I believe he had 3 surgeries, including to his shoulder and to his hip.

How is this cap circumvention? The Hawks are not taking advantage of anything that other teams do on a daily basis.

I assume then that you believe that hockey contracts should become non-guaranteed in the case a player gets injured? Good luck with that one.

[thefoss1957]

I appreciate that Seabrook's "heavy" playing style led to a breakdown. I also resent the league's attempt to punish teams that front loaded contracts, that were perfectly legal and acceptable at the time, with the ridiculous cap penalty. Changing the rules on pre-existing contracts is, patently, unfair, and should only apply to contracts signed AFTER the rule change.It is not as if the rules allowed restructuring to meet compliance to the changes.

As for his career, in some ways, Seabrook was slightly disappointing, in that, he was much more hyped coming out of Juniors than most other defenseman that draft. He turned out "very good" instead of the projected "totally dominant". And suffers, some, in comparison, with his long time defense partner, Keith, who received very little buzz coming into that draft.

But, all in all in leadership, and performance, Seabrook was an excellent player for his tenure as a Blackhawk, and is a guaranteed to get his jersey number "7" retired. And that is a good thing, as the other guy that wore that number, who stands as my most hated and overrated 'Hawk player of all time, is also likely to be honored with sharing that number retirement. And I will never forgive Chelios for taking that selfish retaliation penalty, behind the play, in game 3 of the the 1992 SCF..

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Infinit47

My initial gut reaction is always that of how convenient this is for the team in question.

But the reality is, this guy put his body on the line and was hurt at his job. He deserves every penny of that contract.

Absolutely because Seabrook is a shell of his former self. But if he hadn't had such devastating injuries, he likely would still be a viable useful NHL d-man. Injuries robbed him of so much playing ability.