For 17 NHL seasons, Brian Campbell kept it together on the ice, but on Tuesday an emotional Campbell almost didn't make it through the news conference in which he explained why he was retiring.
Physically, Campbell could still play in the NHL at 38, but Campbell didn't want to re-locate his family from Chicago and he said the Blackhawks told him they wanted to go in another direction with their blue line. Those events culminated Tuesday, when Campbell fought back tears multiple times as he thanked those that helped him along the way.
"I don't think I'd want to retire any other way but a Blackhawk," Campbell said. "It was fun. I had a blast. There are lots of nights after games I was with my buddies. That was the best part of it."
Campbell said the Hawks let him know they weren't going to re-sign him in plenty of time to take calls from other teams and field offers.
He said he didn't hold any hard feelings.
"They were going to move in a different direction and that was fine by me," Campbell said. "They let me know in a lot of time, so if I was choosing that, that's how that kind of went down. I understand. I played a long time in this league and I understood that. It was nice they gave me lots of time and I had to think about it and see what I wanted to do."
Campbell will now serve as a special adviser for the Hawks on both the hockey and business of the club. President John McDonough joked that in hiring Campbell there was a "good chance" he hired his replacement.
Campbell said when the Hawks lost their first-round series to the Predators, he had an idea he might have played his last game.
"You never know how much longer you're going to play," Campbell said. "I think it was such a tough series to go through and the way we lost, it wasn't fun pulling off the jersey that's for sure. I've had some of these thoughts for a while now and this is the time for me to step away."
For Campbell, the ability to keep his family in Chicago was the main reason he is hanging up his skates instead of continuing on with another interested team. Even when Campbell played for the Panthers before re-joining the Hawks, he and his family kept a home in Chicago where they lived during the offseason. Campbell said he did not want to move his two young daughters, Harper and Everley, if he didn't have to.
"I actually didn't solicit any offers. I talked to some teams, I just didn't think it was fair if I wasn't going to play to do that to anybody and try to start negotiating with teams," Campbell said. "I had been thinking about it for a while. I think at the end of the season I didn't know if I was ready to do it anymore. ... There have been some tough days but we're happy with our decision."
