One of the steadiest St. Louis Blues from the 2019 Stanley Cup champions may soon be hanging up his skates.
Robert Bortuzzo, who began his NHL career with Pittsburgh, then went to St. Louis before playing for the Islanders and for Utah, is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
It’s not clear whether anyone will have interest in him.
“Bortuzzo could come face-to-face with (retirement) this summer,” NHL Rumors’ Gabriel Foley writes. “To say his role in Utah was minimal may be an understatement. He appeared in just 17 games on the season, and averaged fewer than 11 minutes of ice time. His absences were generally the result of a lower-body injury that held him out for all but two games after December 11th. But his on-ice impact is slowing down as well, and it seems Bortuzzo could soon be pushed to end his career at 577 games played, 76 points scored, and one Stanley Cup won. If he’s convinced to play for one more year, it will be in the role of seventh-defender for a team in need for a feisty and physical depth piece.”
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Bortuzzo has always been a defense-minded defenseman. His career-high in points in a season is just 13.
But he always found a way to stick around, because he used his physicality to get the job done on a back-end defense line for multiple teams.
His isn’t a glamorous career, but it’s the story of a guy who refused to relent.
There might not be a lot of hockey left for Bortuzzo, though. If he signs off now, at least he’ll know he’s always a Stanley Cup champion.
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