There’s been speculation this was coming ever since last week, but with the Stanley Cup finals now over we have the formal announcement coming: Rob Blake will retire, announcing his retirement at a 11 a.m. press conference on Friday morning.
From David Pollack at the San Jose Mercury News:
Since the only real suspense surrounding Blake is whether he’ll immediately slide into a front-office job someplace or take some time to decompress, the logical talking point then becomes who will succeed the 40-year-old defenseman as Sharks’ captain. The obvious co-favorites for the ‘C’ at this point would have to be Dan Boyle or Joe Pavelski, but don’t look for any answers this Friday.
It was hoped that Blake would provide the same presence on the San Jose Sharks blueline that Chris Pronger did for the Flyers, yet was never able to help the team get over that hump and into the Cup finals.
Blake was first drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and spent 12 seasons in LA before moving onto Colorado via a midseason trade in 2000. He spent five seasons with the Avalanche, winning a Stanley Cup in 2001 before heading back to Los Angeles in 2006.
Blake will finish his career with 240 goals, 537 assists and 777 career points in 1,270 games in the NHL.