ST. LOUIS (KMOX/AP) - Jay Bouwmeester will not play for the rest of this season or postseason and says he still hasn't fully thought about his hockey future since collapsing on the bench during a St. Louis Blues game earlier this month.
"I think I've accomplished a lot of the things I set out when I was young. I'm proud of a lot of the team accomplishments. I've tried to be a good teammate," Bowumeester says. "I've experienced a lot of good things."
Bouwmeester again thanked the Blues training staff, paramedics and medical professionals, teammates and the fans who showed him and his family support since the incident.
"It’s a scary thing, but everything has been going pretty good lately. And will continue to evaluate things," Bouwmeester says. "Everything should be positive moving forward. I'm just taking small steps right now."
The press conference comes 15 days since Bouwmeester, 36, collapsed in the first period of the Feb. 11 game and went into cardiac arrest. He had a cardioverter defibrillator implanted into his chest at UCI Medical Center in Orange County, California, where he had been hospitalized until returning to St. Louis a few days later.
“Our family has felt the support of the entire National Hockey League family and the city of St. Louis during this time,” Bouwmeester said in the statement. "We have all been greatly comforted by your genuine concern. On Sunday evening, I returned to St. Louis and I am on the road to recovery. My wife and daughters are forever grateful for everyone’s support and we will continue to have a positive outlook for our future.”
The game was postponed and will be played March 11. It will begin with a 1-1 score, as it was at the time of the postponement, but still follow a full 60-minute format.
The Blues put Bouwmeester on long-term injured reserve, which gives them salary-cap relief, and took a step toward filling his spot on the blue line by acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2020 second-round pick and conditional 2021 fourth-round pick.