Yeah, some of the stuff going back and re-watching it now...it gets cringe worthy. there was/is a lot I like about 90s hockey but there was also a lot of stuff that I'm fine not seeing in the game any more. For whatever reasons those big blow'em up hits became a huge deal, and I think the league still suffers from it. Guys always took the body, but there became an aspect of it at that time where it was almost a competition to see who could most violently debilitate someone. It was weird.
Your post here made me think of Paul Kariya. A guy who kind of embodied the dangers of that era. Undersized, tough as nails guy that just kept going back out there.
It took him 6 concussions (recorded ones anyway) until he finally retired.
This is a tough read if you loved Kariya (I was very young but saw him play for Maine way back when) and just love hockey like most of us do.
Paul Kariya was forced to retire in 2011 due to concussions. Six years later he broke his silence.
Michael Farber: “You haven’t been curious, gee what would it be like to be skating in my gear?”
Paul Kariya: “If I could, I would still be playing professionally. No questions asked.
“I woke up in a hospital bed. I didn’t know who I was or where I was. When I saw what happened, I was… furious wouldn’t describe the words. And not for myself, but for the fact that these hits were still happening in the game.”
Michael Farber: “How much of your brain function did you lose after the concussions?
Paul Kariya: “At the end of my career when I was tested by Dr. Lovell who created the IMPACT testing, I dropped over 60%. When I was tested by another doctor, just a general test for my general age group, I was testing in the 25th percentile. I was a decent student. I got into Harvard. I’m not a 25% student. There was significant damage.”
Michael Farber: “When did things start to clear and you thought I’m going to be okay?”
Paul Kariya: “Two years later.”
[...]
Michael Farber: “Why doesn’t the league hire someone like you for Player Safety over the people who work there now?”
Paul Kariya: “That’s a question for the league.”
Michael Farber: “How should the league best address concussions?”
Paul Kariya: “I think today we’re in a way better spot when I retired. Things are moving in the right direction, but those targeted head shots are still in the game. And for me, there’s no reason to have that in the game.”
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Paul Kariya, clearly a woke millennial, who doesn't respect the history of the game.