The 36-year-old forward last played in 2019-20 when he had one goal in 13 games for the St. Louis Blues.
"I'm going to miss the relationships that I was able to make over the years with guys on my teams and their families," Brouwer told the Blues website. "Playing this game, you always get to meet new people, you always get to have experiences with those people and a lot of those you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. I'm going to miss that competitiveness, and I'm going to miss those big moments where you have an opportunity to do something amazing after you've worked your whole life to get to that moment."
Selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round (No. 214) of the 2004 NHL Draft, Brouwer scored 363 points (182 goals, 181 assists) in 851 regular-season games with the Blues, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and Blackhawks. He scored 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) in 106 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"It was always just hard work, play physical, play hard and contribute where you can," Brouwer said. "I was able to make sure I still played my game, and it fit what a lot of NHL teams needed, so that's how I was able to have such a long career."
Brouwer won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010 when he scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in 19 playoff games.
"Not too bad for a young guy who was just hoping one day he could play one NHL game and flourish into a pretty solid career from there," he said. "You always hope you can play one NHL game. Then you hope it's 10 games, then so on and so on. There were some days where you get called up and sent down and you're not quite sure if things are really going to pan out the way you want them to. But perseverance, being surrounded by great people, great family and great friends can make it all work out."
