The 35-year-old, who was placed on long-term injured reserve, has not played in a game this season. He said he made the decision after practicing with the taxi squad Saturday.
"It was hard to skate and keep up," he said. "I'd been skating for three weeks prior and it was a battle. It just never really gave me everything, it never got better. I'd wake up in the morning, I'd feel good, I'd skate for five minutes and it would lock up. I couldn't push or pivot or turn."
Seabrook said X-rays taken Thursday showed he has no cartilage in one hip.
"We did a lot of stuff with injections, cortisone, trying to get it back to manageable and something I can play with," he said. "... [My body] finally turned around and said, 'I'm not going to do it anymore.'"
Seabrook last played Dec. 15, 2019. He had surgery on his right shoulder 12 days later, had a procedure on his left hip in January 2020 and one on his right hip on Feb. 6, 2020. He was expected to need 5-6 months to recover.
"Over a three-month period from December 2019 to February 2020, Brent underwent successful surgeries on both of his hips and his right shoulder," Blackhawks team physician Dr. Michael Terry said. "He has worked extremely hard to recover from those surgeries but has a long-term issue with his right hip that is preventing him from playing professional hockey. We have tried all available conservative treatments and nothing has worked well enough for him to live life as an athlete."
Seabrook said he wasn't sure if having the surgeries earlier in his career would have allowed him to continue playing now.
"I'm happy with my career," he said. "I could've had surgeries at any point. We didn't have the luxury, we were going deep in the playoff runs and my focus was getting ready for the next season. I didn't want a six-month layoff or anything like that. In hindsight maybe things would've worked out better, but I've got no regrets. I'm proud of the way I did things, proud of my career, and who's to say what would've happened."
Seabrook was selected by the Blackhawks with the No. 14 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft and scored 464 points (103 goals, 361 assists) in 1,114 NHL games. He scored 59 points (20 goals, 39 assists) in 123 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
"From 'Seabs' perspective, no one can say he didn't do everything he could to get back," Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton said. "He still had the fire and hunger to try to come back and compete and help us win. He didn't leave anything on the table there as well. I'm not sure he has anything to prove either. He's won everything as a team, and individually he's been a huge contributor for team success. ... Obviously, it's going to be tough not competing every night, but his resume is up there, for sure."
Seabrook, who has three seasons remaining on an eight-year contract he signed Sept. 26, 2015, is third in regular-season games played with Chicago behind defenseman Duncan Keith (1,162) and forward Stan Mikita (1,396).
"His style of play, he was a fearless player," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. "He was a big, strong guy who was not afraid to play physical and stand up for himself or his teammates if they were being taken advantage of. He was the ultimate competitor, very underrated as far as his passing skills. Looking back at those teams when we had [Jonathan] Toews, [Patrick] Kane, [Marian] Hossa, [Patrick] Sharp, on down the list, we had some really high-powered forwards. But the key to those teams, was how good our defensemen were, in particular Keith and Seabrook. They were such good players together defensively, but also getting outlet passes to forwards, starting the attack.
"The other part is just his presence and personality. The media didn't get to see that, but he really was the guy in the locker room who would keep everyone engaged, sometimes through humor, other times through just being that upbeat spirit, trying to be a spark of positivity. He was a huge part of the teams over the years. When you talk to teammates of his, they all talk about it. Maybe fans can't see it, but he was a huge part of the success and a big reason why our team was able to do what it did those years."
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report
