Three Stanley Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal and a lasting legacy as one of the greatest defensemen in Blackhawks history weren't enough for Brent Seabrook when his body gave out on him in 2019. He wasn't ready to call it a career. He wanted go out on his own terms.
Seabrook underwent three major surgeries to repair his right shoulder and both hips with hopes of returning to the ice for the 2020 playoffs. When that didn't happen, he set his sights on the 2020-21 season.
"I couldn't walk," Seabrook told TSN in a recent interview. "I was ready to go, and then all of a sudden, I couldn't walk. It was three months of banging my head against the wall trying to get healthy."
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Eventually, it became clear that a comeback wasn't in the cards, and the 15-year veteran announced the end of his playing career in March 2021.
"I had a great career," he said. "Maybe my stubbornness of not missing games — wanting to be out there with my teammates — affected my body later on. You don't want to go out that way. I wanted to go out on my own terms.
"I told my body to just screw off for 15 years. It finally turned around and told me to screw off."
Robbed of a serviceable final chapter in hockey, Seabrook knew he still had more to give to the sport. His wife, Dayna, knew it, too.
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"She's like, 'You just light up when you talk hockey, he recalled his wife saying. "'You're done playing, but it's what you're meant to do."
After a brief stint on the coaching staff with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, Seabrook embarked on a new path. This time, with Canada's national junior hockey team.
He now serves as part of Canada's backroom setup for the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship, where he'll garnish young players with the wisdom and experience of a decorated champion.
"I'm just excited," he said. "I don't think I could be a coach or a manager of a professional team today. But that's definitely something I want to keep open."
Seabrook wouldn't be able to pursue any coaching opportunities in the NHL until after the 2023-24 season, anyways. The Blackhawks traded his contract to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 for salary cap reasons, so he will officially retire after the current season. Then, the sky is the limit.
"Maybe one day I could give it a shot," he said of a future in the NHL.