SHARKSPAGE

Rob Blake confirms retirement after 20 NHL seasons

20-YEAR NHL VETERAN ROB BLAKE CONFIRMED HIS RETIREMENT WEDNESDAY

#4 BLAKE CRASHED INTO #39 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN IN 2008-09

BLAKE ANSWERED QUESTIONS AFTER BECOMING THE 10TH CAPTAIN IN SJ HISTORY IN 2009

San Jose captain Rob Blake said he had made up his mind on retirement after the Sharks were eliminated from the Western Conference Finals by the Chicago Blackhawks, he just needed time to speak with family and friends in order to finalize the decision. “I need to meet with Doug (Wilson), I need to meet with Todd (McLellan). It will take some time. I don’t think it is that tough a decision by any means, it just takes some time,” Blake told the assembled media as he was cleaning out his locker.

“There is an emotional factor when you are done with a season. You need to wait that out. Then you need to talk to influential people in your life, and guys you have a lot of trust in. You put all that together, and then you make your decision. That is why guys usually wait a little bit,” Blake said.

Today that decision was made public. A report on CSNBayArea.com earlier today cited a source that said Blake made the decision to retire, but he was holding off on the announcement in order not to distract attention from game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals between Chicago and Philadelphia. It was a selfless act for the good of the game, and one that is more than representative of his leadership on the ice in San Jose during two seasons with the organization. Blake’s decision to retire was confirmed publicly by TSN’s Darren Dreger via twitter.

In September, Blake was named the 10th captain in San Jose Sharks history. “I welcome the challenge, first of all it is a tremendous honor,” Blake said of the announcement. He succeed Wayne Gretzky as the captain of the Los Angeles Kings from 1998-2001, won a Stanley Cup in a 4+ year detour in Colorado, then rejoined the Kings to serve as assistant captain and captain. “”I am going to take what I learned, from some of the things that didn’t go right in Los Angeles, make those try to go better, you learn from those experiences,” Blake said of how he will approach his captaincy in San Jose.

His approach was as professional off the ice as it was on it, with far fewer elbows thrown behind the play. He struggled to regain the offensive form he maintained in 2008-09, registering only 3 points in his first 13 games this year. San Jose Sharks television analyst Drew Remenda said that breaks due to an early season injury, and the subsequent 3 week Olympic break, rejuvinated Blake’s game and helped him register 11 points in March and April. More than just impacting the scoresheet, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound blueliner made approaching the Sharks goal crease or chasing down a puck in the corner a perilous endeavor.

On April 4th in the final regular season meeting between the Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche, Blake checked Peter Mueller hard into the end boards. Mueller, a trade deadline acquisition, had been one of the hottest offensive forwards in the league since coming to the Avalanche. After registering 2 goals and an assist, Mueller crashed awkwardly into the boards after the hit. His head and shoulder made seperate, and brutal, contact with the wall. Mueller needed to be assisted off the ice with an apparrent concussion and an upper body injury. “You never want to see a guy get hurt, no matter what, but the thing that happened, that’s hockey,” Blake told the Denver Post.

Blake’s presence on the blueline became more of an issue when the Avalanche shook out as the Sharks first round playoff opponent for the fourth time. Blake steadied San Jose after a puck went off his skate for the game winning goal against in game 1, and another of his clearing attempts went off the throat of Marc-Edouard Vlasic for an own goal in game 2. When a Dan Boyle clearing shot went off the stick of Ryan O’Reilly to end game 3 for Colorado, full panic mode set off among a select group of fans and media in San Jose. East coast and Canadian media buried the team under past playoff shortcomings. Blake was front and center in the media, stressing a one game at a time mantra, and he presented a calming and confident influence on the locker room.

That calm was not evidence on the ice. Blake again was a physical force in the Colorado WCQF series, and a hit on forward T.J. Galiardi drew the wrath of the Denver Post’s Adrian Dater and calls for a suspension after game 2. In the second and third rounds of the playoffs, Blake was tasked to clear the crease of unwanted traffic, and he was effective. While Detroit continued to go to the well in front, Chicago made adjustments and slid to open areas higher in the slot. The Sharks, Blake included, were a step slow against the Blackhawks on both sides of the ice.

Blake finished his career by leading the San Jose Sharks to their most successful season in the franchise’s 19-year history. The 1998 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best defenseman finishes with 240 goals, 537 assists and 777 points. The prolific offensive-defenseman played in 6 NHL Allstar Games, and he represented Canada in 3 Olympic appearances, 5 World Championships and the World Cup in 1996.

There are rumors he could be interested in a front office position, but he noted that travel was not a part of the equation near-term. “I don’t know that I want to travel as much, but I’d like to learn more about the business, get a real education about the other side of the game,” Blake said after his 2009-10 season ended. If he returns to the NHL in another capacity, many are hoping he brings that old school presence to the Sharks front office.

Rob Blake’s departure will raise many questions… Who will be the next San Jose Sharks captain, will a new free agent defenceman be brought in to replace them, how will the Sharks on-ice physicality change for 2010-11. Questions that will take several months for answers.

[Update] Source: Sharks captain Blake to retire – Pierre LeBrun for ESPN.com.

[Update2] Defenseman Blake to retire after 21 NHL seasons – TSN.

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