After 14 seasons in the NHL, with all but one of them coming as a member of the St. Louis Blues, Barret Jackman officially announced his retirement on Tuesday afternoon. He did it after signing a one-day contract with the team, allowing him to retire as a member of the team he spent the bulk of his career with.
Jackman spent the 2015-16 season as a member of the Nashville Predators, but retiring as a member of the Blues seemed to be the only way for him to do it.
“For me, I grew up wearing the Blue Note,” he told the Blues’ website on Tuesday.
“I came into the League at 18, got drafted, threw that jersey on and moved from Canada down to St. Louis. I met my wife, had my kids - and I did all that with the Blue Note on.”
Originally drafted by the Blues in the first round (No. 17 overall) of the 1999 draft, Jackman went on to play 876 games in the league, scoring 29 goals and adding 157 assists while playing a rugged, stay-at-home style of defense.
When he first came into the league the NHL was built for defenseman like him and his initial debut was so strong that he ended up winning the Calder Trophy during the 2002-03 season as the league’s rookie of the year. He only recorded 19 points that season, but he played more than 20 minutes per game and appeared in every single regular season game.
He ended up winning the rookie of the year that season by finishing ahead of Henrik Zetterberg and Rick Nash.