Barret Jackman To Announce Retirement At Scottrade Tuesday

Barret Jackman was drafted 17th overall by the Blues in the 1999 NHL entry draft, back when it was a good idea to draft stay at home defensemen in the first round. Offense and puck moving was not yet the de facto expectation of first round defensemen, and Jackman excelled in his role as a blueliner under the tutelage of Chris Pronger. Jackman, as is often mentioned by Blues fans looking to troll others, won the Calder Trophy in 2003, the only Blue in history to win the award.

After the 2004-2005 lockout, the role of the defenseman in the NHL changed to that of someone with some sort of offensive awareness. Jackman slowly slipped to the third pairing, and as time went on he slowed down. After the departure of whipping boy Eric Brewer, Jackman slowly became a cause of consternation for a portion of the fanbase who expected him to evolve into some sort of player that he wasn’t.

For the other portion of the fanbase, they saw what Bobby Plager did when he allowed Jackman to wear his number five.

Sir Jax left the Blues when his contract wasn’t renewed at the end of the 2015 season, signing a deal with the Nashville Predators. While it was unfortunate that Jackman didn’t retire with the team that he called home for nearly his entire career, tomorrow Jackman will be given the opportunity to announce his retirement from the NHL at Scottrade Center. The press conference is tomorrow at 2:00 and full video will be posted after the conference is completed.

There is speculation about the Blues giving Jackman a front office job to continue his career in St. Louis. As the second-longest tenured Blue of all time, it would be a fitting coda to his career to move into a management position with the team.