Blues’ UFA D-Man Marco Scandella Makes Big Decision About Next Stop

34-year-old defenseman Marco Scandella saw his playing time dramatically cut by the St. Louis Blues last season, and as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason there were no offers coming his way. He has decided that his next step in life will be to retire from hockey and enjoy travelling the world.

The former second-round pick of the Minnesota Wild (2008 NHL Draft) dropped in on Blues' practice Saturday morning and shared the news of the next stage of his life with Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He told him that he really enjoyed travelling during his off-time this past summer.

Scandella began his career with seven seasons in Minnesota where he was a relied-upon member of the blueline, playing nearly 20 minutes per night. From there he went to the Buffalo Sabres where he had the best season of his 14-year career, receiving a personal best 23:19 of ice-time per game, while registering a career-high 17 assists and 114 blocked shots in 82 games. He spent 2½ years in Buffalo, made a quick stop in Montreal with the Canadiens, then spent the last 4+ seasons of his career with the Blues.

Last season, in 65 games, he managed only 12:28 of ice time, while receiving many healthy scratches, and recording just 8 points. He scored just two goals in his final season, but one of them was possibly the highlight of his career in the offensive department:

Shorthanded breakaway goal by…Marco Scandella???

AND he roofed it on the backhand?? #stlblues pic.twitter.com/iUDyIt8H70
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) December 13, 2023