Seabs of change for hawks
but shoulder, hip surgeries not expected to end career
Captain Jonathan Toews nodded across the Blackhawks’ dressing room in the direction of the locker of veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook, who has been a mainstay for nearly every minute of Toews’ career.
And he saw only an empty seat.
‘‘I was just thinking that this morning [is] day one, pretty much, that he’s not around,’’ Toews said Friday. ‘‘You notice it right away. He’s one of those vocal guys that sits in here and the lounge and everywhere you go. He’s one of the biggest talkers and social guys in the room that brings a lot of energy every day. You miss his presence, for sure.’’
At the same time, Seabrook was having surgery on his right shoulder. It was the first of three surgeries — the latter two will be on each hip — in a two-month span that will keep him out for at least the rest of this season.
After 15 years of pushing through virtually every challenge hockey has thrown his way, Seabrook’s extended absence is so startling, so unusual, that he practically was eulogized by many Hawks. ‘‘He meant a lot to this team,’’ said center Kirby Dach, who is living with Seabrook and his family during his rookie season. ‘‘To see him going down this path, it sucks. At the same time, he also needs to take care of his body.
‘‘The biggest thing, when you’re done playing, is how your teammates are going to remember you, and Brent is going to obviously be remembered as a great hockey player but an even better teammate and friend.’’
The past tense Dach used raised many eyebrows on social media and sparked talk that Seabrook might be thinking his surgeries are career-ending. Indeed, a permanent stay on long-term injured reserve could help the Hawks escape without punishment the four years left on Seabrook’s enormous contract.
But the Hawks have insisted multiple times since announcing Seabrook’s and fellow defenseman Calvin de Haan’s season-ending surgeries Thursday that Seabrook’s career isn’t in jeopardy.
Coach Jeremy Colliton said Friday he was told Seabrook would be ready for training camp next season, and the Hawks later reported Seabrook’s surgery went smoothly.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the Hawks won’t miss his outspoken personality and 1,114 games of experience in the next four months.
‘‘He’s really good at getting to know everyone, including everyone, being able to connect with everyone,’’ wing Patrick Kane said. ‘‘There’s a lot of different personalties in the room and guys from different areas of the world, and he’s able to connect with everyone.’’
That affability — taken for granted by the other members of the Hawks’ core in the last 15 years — will be tough for anyone to replace, even if Seabrook’s 18-minutes-a-night role (the lowest season average of his career), 41.5 percent scoring-chance ratio (worst among team defensemen) and four points in 32 games won’t be. And it’s likely those struggles were affected by his shoulder and hip problems.
‘‘We sit beside each other in every locker room, [and] it’s different not having him on the bus and things like that,’’ defenseman Duncan Keith said.
‘‘But there’s nothing we can do about it now. He’s battled through these injuries for a long time. Anybody else, they probably would have been missing a lot more time than that over the course of the last several seasons. Shows the mentality and the type of person that he is.’’ ✶
‘‘I was just thinking that this morning [is] day one, pretty much, that he’s not around. You notice it right away. He’s one of those vocal guys that sits in here and the lounge and everywhere you go. . . . You miss his presence, for sure.’’ JONATHAN TOEWS, ON BRENT SEABROOk