The Chicago Blackhawks are in an interesting spot with their former star defenseman, Brent Seabrook.
The Chicago Blackhawks are an interesting team headed into their play-in series against the Edmonton Oilers. Each team is loaded with offensive firepower that should trade chances during the series but the team who is slightly better at defending and gets slightly better goaltending will win the series. For Chicago, Brent Seabrook has been a long time staple on the blue line but he isn’t going to be there in Edmonton with the Hawks.
Brent Seabrook says he will not be traveling with the team to Edmonton for the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round. #Blackhawks
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 24, 2020
Seabrook doesn’t feel ready to go yet. He had a conversation with Stan Bowman on Thursday and they decided that he is for sure not going to be a part of the Blackhawks postseason roster. Despite his dip in play over the last few seasons, you should still consider that a loss for the Hawks because they don’t have much ready to go in his place that will be better.
Brent Seabrook seems to think that he still has a lot to give to an NHL lineup. The fact is that Jeremy Colliton doesn’t a lot of the time and Seabrook seems to know it. According to him, he will be in the NHL next season but he isn’t sure where that will be.
Brent Seabrook: "I don't know what my place is with the Blackhawks. That's a question for Stan and Jeremy. As for the NHL, I do I know I can be an impact player on a hockey club.” #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) July 24, 2020
He knows and has accepted that he might not play out the rest of his current deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. It is very sad that it has come down to this for one of the greatest defensemen to ever play for the Blackhawks organization. He is a multi-time champion and was a major part of every single one of them. Hopefully, there is a point late in Seabrook’s career that he is able to be in a lineup healthy and playing well.
He is not going to be in the playoff lineup but we will certainly be watching to see what the next chapter is for his NHL career. He is motivated to be an NHL player next year and beyond which is good for him. He will continue his career but his future in Chicago certainly appears to be in doubt. You have to feel wanted to play professional sports and it doesn’t seem like he is wanted in Chicago right now. He would absolutely sign off on going to a team that does want him, according to a lot of his soundbites from Friday.