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John Scott subtly announces retirement on Instagram
Looks like John Scott has found the ending to the screenplay Mitch Albom is writing about him.
The NHL enforcer turned All-Star MVP has decided to hang up his skates and turn to something that doesn’t require punching people in the face – brewing beer.
Cat Silverman of Today’s Slapshot first reported Scott made the announcement in an Instagram post over the weekend:
A video posted by John Scott (@jhs_32) on Nov 4, 2016 at 1:09pm PDT
Puck Daddy reached out to Scott and the NHLPA to see if he filed his retirement papers to make it official. We have yet to receive a response from either party.
If it wasn’t for the events of the 2015-16 season this announcement wouldn’t get much attention.
In his 286 game NHL career, Scott played for seven different teams. He scored 11 points total and racked up 544 penalty minutes. Scott was an enforcer, pure and simple.
Things started to change for Scott with the fan vote for the 2016 All-Star Game. Two knucklehead podcasters, Greg Wyshynski and Jeff Marek, jokingly started a movement to get Scott voted into the league’s premiere event. (This website continues to accept full responsibility for the endeavor.)
What followed was a drama that really did feel like it came right out of a movie as chronicled by Scott in an article for The Players’ Tribune. He was asked to give up his spot on the All-Star team, questioned as to if this would make his kids proud, involved in an eyebrow raising trade from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens, and assigned to play in Newfoundland as his wife was nearing the delivery date of twins.
At the All-Star Game, he scored two goals and helped lift the Pacific Division to the 3-on-3 tournament crown. When the NHL didn’t include him initially on the game MVP ballot, fans took over again and forced the league’s hand; Scott was named the MVP.
When the festivities were over, Scott stayed with his family to await the arrival of twin daughters. He then returned to the St. John’s IceCaps in Newfoundland.
His NHL career ends with the forward being recalled by the Canadiens. Out of the playoffs, the team had three games left in their season and gave the enforcer one last stand in the spotlight. Scott appeared in one game, earning a spot in the starting lineup, before returning home to Michigan to be with his family.
After the game, Scott was honest about his future, “… I don’t know what’s going to happen next and it’s very emotional.”
Remaining unsigned at the beginning of the NHL season appears to have made the decision for Scott.
One thing we know for sure, Scott left an indelible mark on the NHL.
According to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, the NHL is looking to avoid the PR nightmare of last year by restricting the NHL All-Star Game to ‘bona fide NHL players.’ What exactly that means, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s safe to say whatever change is made, it’ll instantly be labeled ‘the John Scott Rule.’
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!
