THE VERDICT: Seabrook Gave Everything to His Team and His City

Only a few athletes retire on their own terms, with a big smile and small wounds. As the saying goes, Father Time is undefeated and Mother Nature always bats last. They're tough on all of us, but those who play sports are on a different, stricter, schedule.
Also, not all men and women can leave the arena with the trove of treasures earned by Brent Seabrook. He won three Stanley Cup rings as a rock of the Blackhawks, a gold medal with Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the universal respect of every National Hockey League locker room beyond the one where he was such a commanding daily presence.

During Seabrook's farewell address, he mentioned that it was "sad" to reach this end. Sad, but inevitable for him, and also for the guys he left behind, not least the nine Chicago rookies who have made their NHL debuts this season. He's dropped in on them occasionally, but they'll never really be able to absorb how fervently and meticulously he treated his profession.
Seabrook also said that when certain surgeries were advisable in the past, they were a "luxury" he couldn't afford. Dr. Michael Terry, the Blackhawks' head team physician, is world class, so there's no reason to practice orthopaedics here. But it's probably safe to say that Seabrook might still be defending the blue line had he listened to his body instead of another Star-Spangled Banner. The Blackhawks needed him and he needed them, even when it hurt.

Tales of Seabrook's voice belong to the select who wore the uniform, yet among a team of leaders and stars receiving louder acclaim than he from crowds of 20,000, he was the oracle behind closed doors for an audience of 20. Seabrook was the last man on the ice before every period. You suspected that before the Blackhawks lined up in the tunnel, he had the last word, too.
Seabrook, who booked four assists in his second NHL game, and sidekick Duncan Keith debuted in 2005, when hockey in Chicago wasn't must-see-TV. More like must-flee-TV. They lived together and Keith observed serial idiosyncrasies in his fellow rookie. Seabrook would set up a conga line of alarm clocks, some of which would blast off so way, way early that it was impossible to be late for anything. Patrick Sharp loved Seabrook like a brother but says rooming on the road with Brent and his portfolio of peccadillos was rather curious.
Modern athletes rarely bother with newspapers anymore -- even the sports section -- but Seabrook took costly full-page ads in Sunday's Tribune and Sun-Times, recognizing "the best fans in sports" for their support over 15 years. Chicago and Kelowna, British Columbia, are vastly different, but he comfortably calls both home now. Thanks for the memories, he wrote.

Seabrook leaves many of those behind. When the Blackhawks were starting to stir, they experienced daylight at Wrigley Field in the 2009 Winter Classic. The opposition defending champion Detroit Red Wings were the model franchise, carrying appropriate swagger. Early in the game, Seabrook issued a stout check on Daniel Cleary, who tumbled over the boards into the home bench, an uninvited non-roster guest. A message? Perhaps. But Seabrook delivered those often during the decade of dominance.
His shot was also in the heavyweight class. Seabrook scored three overtime playoff goals during his career: Game 7 against Detroit in 2013, Game 4 in the 2103 Final against the Boston Bruins, and a Game 4 triple-OT salvo against the Nashville Predators in 2015. He could have joined the rush more often, but as a textbook complement to the flashy Keith, he deferred to stay back, block pucks and clog lanes. Seabrook was reliable, unselfish, and available. He rarely missed a game.
That first overtime goal rescued the Blackhawks in a series they had trailed, 3-1. In Game 4, captain Jonathan Toews took three consecutive penalties and could have been tagged with a fourth. Seabrook drifted over to the box and had a few words for Toews, who uncharacteristically seemed unhinged. Captains talk but also listen, not that Seabrook made a production out of it. He probably would have preferred privacy, but the series was spinning out of control. Detroit won, 2-0, then dropped three straight.

Seabrook could be grumpy, but sometimes grumpy can be good. You ask an impertinent question of him, get a curt reply, and move on. Maybe, you figured, he could have used a few more minutes of sleep that day but wasn't able to because of all those alarm clocks. Out of uniform, he was not just a jock passing through town but part of the community. Hockey players give back. It's always been that way. Fame and fortune don't alter the culture.
With wife Dayna, three children and pets, Seabrook likely did not lack for company. Yet when Kirby Dach, the Blackhawks' 2019 first-round draftee, made the club, Seabrook welcomed him into their household. That's what leaders do, for the teenager in a strange environment, for the team. Denis Savard spoke no English except "eggs and toast" when he arrived in Chicago. Keith Brown, a prince, took him in. You know the rest of Savvy's story.
Seabrook, 35, could be a coach someday. For now, he leaves mentoring of young defensemen to Keith. As Joel Quenneville noted, Keith started this season with quite the hairdo. He bore a resemblance to George Carlin, the comedic genius who wondered why we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway. Keith, 37, carries on seamlessly, padding his Hall of Fame resume without Seabrook, who says Keith lately has been attached to him by a leash.
Such fun they had, all those boys of winter with the summer parades. However, when you try to skate and discover you can't walk, it's over and out. Seabrook still has a bum hip, but there was never anything wrong with his heart.
"It was a hell of a run," said No. 7. Sure was.