Barret Jackman Will Not Return To The Blues

I would be lying if I didn't say that my initial reaction to the news that the Blues would not be offering Barret Jackman a contract was along the lines of this:

And then I took a second to think about Petteri Lindbohm, and the fact that maybe this means that the Blues will try to retain Zbynek Michalek. If coach Ken Hitchcock wants a looser, more #reckless Blues team next year - which I will translate as "puck moving" because that makes me feel better than "reckless" does - not having Jackman back there makes sense. He's aging. He's still putting up good defensive numbers, but he's reached the point in his career where, on the Blues at least, he's become expendable.

That being said, I'd like to take a second to toss out a thank you to Sir Jaxx. He's the longest-tenured St. Louis athlete by a mile. He's been a part of the franchise since he was drafted in 1999. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to say "Hey, did you know that Barret Jackman beat out Rick Nash and Henrik Zetterberg for the Calder?" just to annoy people.

Jackman has been an active member of the St. Louis community, and I know that it's part and parcel of being an athlete to have to pack up and leave, but I hope that Jax decides to do what so many former Blues have done and stay put in St. Louis as home. There's a reason that Bobby Plager decided to give Jackman his blessing to wear #5, and I hope that's not lost in the shuffle.

Jackman will more than likely test the free agent waters, but upon retirement I would not be shocked to see him find some role with the Blues organization.

Thank you for handling being some fans' whipping boy, and thank you for being a Blue, Jax. Enjoy your upcoming Stanley Cup win somewhere else, probably with Detroit.