Marco Scandella, a 14-year veteran defenceman, has made a big decision today as he retires. The Quebec native played last season and a total of four and a half seasons with the St. Louis Blues. He had been an unrestricted free agent but never did land a contract for 2024-25.
Marco Scandella, a former defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres, has officially announced his retirement from professional hockey. The 34-year-old confirmed his retirement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after completing a five-year… https://t.co/6P5AG7fd2n
— NHL Digest (@nhl_digest) October 27, 2024
As Scandella Calls It a Career Looking Back at his Early Success
Scandella was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. From 2013-2015, Scandella established himself as one of the Wild’s top defencemen. Paired with longtime friend, Jared Spurgeon, Scandella made major contributions to the Wild’s offence and defence. In two of these seasons, the Wild would upset the Central Division Champions (Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, respectively) in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Three Trades in Three Seasons
Prior to the 2017-18 season, Scandella was traded to the Buffalo Sabres. After two and a half uneventful seasons, the Sabres traded Scandella to the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens made the trade to add some depth to their defence with the hopes of making a run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A month later, the Canadiens found themselves dropping in the standings and in an effort to get something of value for the pending unrestricted free agent, traded Scandella to the St. Louis Blues.
The Blue Years
The trade for Scandella came after the scary Jay Boumeester cardiac event left the Blues needing help on defence. Scandella would be a productive player for the Blues. Scandella earned a four-year extension from the Blues. With the exception one season, Scandella would be a constant in the Blues lineup.
Due to salary cap cap constraints and the team retooling, the Blues were not in a position to re-sign Scandella for 2024-25.
Review of Marco Scandella’s Stats as he Retires
Scandella offered someone who can be consistently in the lineup and can be a plus defender with the occasional offensive burst. In total, he played 784 career NHL regular season games, recording 170 points. He was a career +19 minute a game player. As a matter of fact, his career-high was 23:19 in 2017-18 as a member of the Sabres. He played for four teams throughout his career.
Main Photo: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
