Brent Seabrook Has A Message For Blackhawks Fans After Announcing His Retirement

Before there was Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, there was just Brent Seabrook for the Chicago Blackhawks. Seabrook was drafted in 2005, when things were pretty bleak for the Blackhawks franchise. They were consistently bottom-dwellers in the league, and they were drawing less than 2,000 fans in the stadium per night.

Flash forward to now, and the Blackhawks remain brand in the city of Chicago even after missing the playoffs for the past two seasons. A lot of that has to do with Brent Seabrook.

The big defenseman was right in the middle of a core group of players who brought three Stanley Cup Championships to the city of Chicago in the 2010s. Over the Blackhawks’ run of dominance, Seabrook was known as the vocal leader of the team, who also had a knack for scoring some of the biggest goals in franchise history. That’s why it was so hard for Hawks fans to say goodbye when it was announced that Seabrook will retire after trying to battle back from injury.

Seabrook shared the love with the city of Chicago. In fact, he took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Sun-Times to thank all the fans.

“To the city of Chicago and Blackhawks fans, Thank you.

Thank you for letting a 20-year-old kid from Western Canada call this city home for my entire 15-year National Hockey League career. Thank you for allowing me to play the game I love in front of you. Thank you for accepting my family and me as a part of your community. Thank you for all of the cheers and the energy, the Cups, the parade, the memories.

This may be goodbye for now, but Chicago will forever be my home and I will always be a Blackhawk.

To the best fans in all of sports, I say again, thank you,” Seabrook said in the add.

Brent Seabrook purchased a full-page ad in the @Suntimes today, thanking Blackhawks fans and the city of Chicago.

"This may be goodbye for now, but Chicago will forever be my home." pic.twitter.com/j1f2239iwP

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 7, 2021

I think it’s safe to say the love between Blackhawks fans and Brent Seabrook is mutual.

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