The St. Louis Blues held a press conference for Jay Bouwmeester to meet with the media. However, things did not quite go as planned.
There is a phrase known by some that is hurry up and wait. That is what it felt like happened on February 26 when the St. Louis Blues held a press conference regarding Jay Bouwmeester.
The Blues announced Bouwmeester would be meeting with members of the media a day prior and the event would be streamed. It seemed rather official and as though something would be announced.
Nothing really was. It was our own fault for assuming. In our minds, we knew what was going to happen and when it didn’t, many were just left a little puzzled.
For those that missed the press conference, basically the only thing that was said regarding hockey is that Bouwmeester would miss the rest of the 2019-20 season and the playoffs. What was not said was anything regarding a potential and possibly likely retirement.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Bouwmeester likely just is not ready to make that commitment to say he is done with the game of hockey as a player.
We have seen how retirement speeches affect players. Thinking about not being able to competitively play the game they love any longer has brought grown men to tears. Bouwmeester was not in a place yet where he wanted to make that decision.
It is understandable, really. The guy nearly died two weeks ago, so being happy to be alive is not something you want to take away from a man by saying he needs to make a decision regarding his playing days.
The only surprising thing, from an outsider perspective, was the need for a press conference. Nothing of note was said other than Bouwmeester saying he feels as though if he did not know he had an implant, he would not know it was there. So, why put him through the experience when he seems uncomfortable with the media anyway?
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Perhaps fan service? Based on the comments going across the screen on Facebook during the live feed, it seemed like it did a lot of the fans good to see him, hear he was doing well and give them an opportunity to wish him well, even though he would likely never read that feed. So, maybe it was done more as a public forum for Bouwmeester to allay everyone’s fears.
If not that, then the press conference really made little sense. They could have issued a press release saying he would miss the remainder of the season. Maybe you make some of the beat writers agitated, but they would get over it.
Ultimately, I think this will just be a delay. As someone who supported the idea of Bouwmeester returning simply because online posts had to be so certain he had no chance to return, I would love to see him lace up the skates once more and play again. If nothing else, based on the dramatic dip in the Blues penalty kill, we have proof that Bouwmeester still gets the job done.
However, there is just too much working against him. The severity of a heart issue is nothing to play around with. Even with some of the best doctors in the world at your fingertips, Bouwmeester will have to decide if a few more games is worth being worried and having family worried in the back of their minds.
Additionally, not to be cold, but the business side is not in his favor either. If there was another year on his contract, I would say it might be 50/50 for a comeback attempt. With Bouwmeester being a free agent after this season, it would be a risk on the part of the Blues to bring him back.
Few, if any, Blues fans would begrudge either side giving it a whirl, but it would be a risk. If Bouwmeester had any further episode, suddenly you’re scrambling to find another top-four defenseman again and that’s just the risk on the hockey side.
Ultimately, we all want what is best for Big Bouw as a person. As much as we would all love a second Stanley Cup and Bouwmeester could be a part of that, we would all be more content as people knowing he went on to live a long, healthy life with his family.
The decision for Bouwmeester will come soon enough. It was just a small surprise it did not come on this day.