In this week’s edition of Hockey Central Ask the Insiders, several fan questions are answered including what was the worst NHL injury suffered by our Insiders and who will win the Stanley Cup — the Boston Bruins or Chicago Blackhawks.
Steve asks: Curious for those who played in the NHL, what’s the worst injury you ever played through (be it all season, a game, a shift)? Thanks!
Nick Kypreos: Hey Steve. Worst injury I ever had, that’s an easy one. Believe it or not it wasn’t reconstructing my knee in a fight with Jamie Huscroft. My concussion in the Ryan VandenBussche fight wasn’t it either. My worst came off the stick of Mike Ware, then draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers. He followed through on a behind the net wrap around that clipped my mouth and broke five of my bottom teeth. He also ripped open my bottom lip that needed hundreds of micro-stitches to layer together. Think my night was over with stitches? Straight to a dentist chair where we proceeded to do five root canals in 10 straight hours!
Never felt constant pain like that my whole life. Freezing couldn’t numb it deep enough to give me any relief. Giving birth can’t be as bad a feeling after going through what I went through that night. Was my lip swollen the next day? Let’s just say I couldn’t see my shoes or skates for two weeks. All road trip the boys were all over me asking if they could rest their room service tray on my bottom lip. Not to brag about being a good ‘ol Canadian boy here Francis but I actually played two nights later albeit with a Sidney Crosby-like face guard.
John Garrett: I was playing for the Birmingham Bulls against the Hartford Whalers (WHA) in 1977. I got hit in the eye with a shot and spent three days in hospital with bleeding behind the eyeball. I came back to play 10 days later but still had some depth perception problems which isn’t good for a goalie! I couldn’t really judge how high the shots were for another week. Nice!
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Denis Potvin: A broken thumb during the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs vs. the Flyers.
Brian Lawton: Honestly playing in the NHL is like no other experience you can explain in lay terms unless you are in another professional sport or the military. Certain players like the Sutter brothers when I played had an incredible persona of having played with more pain than the average NHL player but having played in over 500 games I can assure you no one and I mean no one goes unscathed in this game. Doesn’t matter who you are or even what style you supposedly play.
The tally for me as a former skill player reads as follows: two broken noses, five lost teeth, three knee surgeries, one cracked rib, two separated shoulders, three broken fingers, multiply wrist injuries, hip injuries and ankle injuries and I was considered to have had a very healthy career!
I generally feel very good in life but the worst injury I ever suffered was a broken nose followed up by the aftercare on the broken nose.
The broken nose hurt but not as much as it looked. Think nose bleed times 10 in front of a packed Maple Leafs Garden. I remember too vividly Michele Petit who was anything but small falling on my head with his large rear end landing squarely on the back of my helmet as my arms got pinned behind my back. Not much to break my fall or protect my face other than my nose getting driven into the ice.
I am certain I was concussed at the time but only diagnosed with a broken nose that required several stitches. The good news was that the stitches didn’t hurt as my entire face was numb. I didn’t miss more than two shifts in the period. You were expected to get back out there and if truth be told I wanted to. I wanted to play on as that is what you do. The bad news was that it was bleeding so badly that the linesman kept telling me “to get off or at least don’t take the face-offs your bleeding all over the puck and me”. Of course, I couldn’t stop playing as it would have been less than honourable and hockey players have great honour.
The pain usually comes after the numbness and 17,000 people go home and of course that happened with this injury but it was the re-breaking of the nose that off-season that really hurt my pride.
The day I went for the procedure the last thing I recall was seeing the nurse wheel in a stainless steel cart with a hammer and chisel that looked like something out of my garage. I know I went in with my skivvies on so you can imagine my surprise when I woke up naked under my hospital garments. Especially since one of the nurses was a friend’s wife whose husband to this day works for a team in Southern California as a Senior Executive in hockey operations.
Yes, you have correctly guessed what happened when they were re-breaking my nose with the hammer. I sh&*% my pants while I was out. It was painful and embarrassing at the same time.
And don’t get me started on how it felt when they removed the six feet of gauze they stuff in your nose after the surgery. That is another story — think sobbing with a laugh like a baby followed by a whole bunch of you have to be kidding me!
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Mike asks: I’m still stunned by watching Gregory Campbell finish his shift with a broken leg the other night. Other than the famous Bobby Baun, any similar “playing through pain” moments you remember?
John Shannon: Mike, I’m certainly not trying to down playing Gregory Campbell’s broken leg, but broken bones and other major injuries are a passage of spring (soon to be summer) in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Every year, we here of players continuing the goal of the Stanley Cup while injured. Off the top of my head, I recall Rangers’ John Davidson playing three more rounds of playoffs after blowing out a knee against the Islanders in 1979, on the way to losing the Stanley Cup final to the Canadiens. In 2006, Doug Weight played game seven of the final with two separated shoulders, and when the ‘Canes won the Cup he couldn’t even lift it fully over his head. And then there was our pal Brad May, who played the 2007 final with a broken hand.
Every year we hear about broken bones (like Joe Thornton for the Bruins who played with broken ribs against Montreal a decade ago), as well as severe knee injuries and pulled muscles in trying to win the Stanley Cup.
Again, not to play down what Campbell did, but it always amazes me what a player will do to have his name on the trophy. It is one of the reasons I love the passion and tradition of the playoffs.
Gord Stellick: I don’t think I have seen a hockey situation comparable to Gregory Campbell’s with the player getting that seriously injured and then having to stay on the ice at the critical time of a game, while a man short and still play (and be effective) through this serious injury.
I was there when Gerard Gallant’s skate caught Borje Salming for hundreds of stitches. He just made a beeline for the bench as the whistle had gone.
I think more of baseball where Kirk Gibson hits a home run as a pinch hitter in a playoff game and hobbles around the bases. Buck Martinez breaking his ankle as the first Seattle runner crashed into him and then holding onto the ball as the second Seattle runner tries to jump over his injured body and turning a double play.
I think of Willis Reed “walking on the court” to inspire the New York Knicks to their championship in the early 1970’s. He was too injured to play but, at his own scripting, he emerged just before the opening tip off. Received a rousing standing ovation, scored the two baskets and then sat on the bench the rest of the game. But his inspirational move set the tone for the Knicks to win the game and the championship.
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Daryl asks: What do you think of Dallas Eakins as the Oilers new coach? Is he the right guy for the job? On a side note, what do the Canucks do now?
John Shannon: Dallas is well organized, committed to fitness and a direct communicator. He could be a very successful element in the Oilers returning to glory. As a disciple of Roger Neilson, Dallas will be as well prepared as any coach in the league. To me, the biggest challenge in Edmonton will be for Craig MacTavish to acquire the proper players to put on the ice that compliment Eakins’ style.
As far as Vancouver, Mike Gillis is being very thorough in going through the process of talking to a long list of candidates. John Stevens will get an interview, just as John Tortorella did earlier this week. Add Jacques Martin to that list, as well. Mike has told me there is no timeline to hiring the next coach in Vancouver, so it’s possible that they might not have their man by the draft. As for my personal choice for the Canucks, I would put Lindy Ruff at the top of the list. He’s a good communicator, and can coach both an offensive style as well as a defensive style of game.
Gord Stellick: Dallas Eakins is the perfect fit for Edmonton. I doubted the teams that are looking to win next year would have hired him, I can see them going more for the Lindy Ruff type. Good for the Edmonton Oilers to be proactive and find the “right” guy for their team. I see this being very similar to another former Leafs’ AHL coach. Marc Crawford coached the St. John’s Maple Leafs and then went to coach the up and coming Quebec Nordiques who were brimming with young talent. Crawford would coach them to their first Stanley Cup when they moved to Colorado. Eakins has a similar opportunity.
Francis asks: Blackhawks and Bruins should be a pretty sweet Stanley Cup final. Who do you think will it all?
Nick Kypreos: Francis, this should be a classic between brawn vs. brain. A team like Chicago loves the east/west rush game while Boston is classic north/south. I like Boston in this one. Factor in the R and R they had finishing off Sidney Crosby and the Penguins and I believe we’ll see two Cups in three years for Boston Strong.
Denis Potvin: The Bruins will win in six games.
Brian Lawton: I believe that the Blackhawks will win this series. I believe the skill, speed and size the Blackhawks possess will be too much for the Bruins defence to handle. What does handle mean? It means that I expect the Hawks depth and size to wear down the Bruins causing the Hawks to win a game or two by scoring 3-4 goals, a game or two by scoring 2-3 goals and to beat the Bruins at their own game winning a close game or two by a goal scoring 1-2 goals before the Bruins are capable of winning four of their own games.
Chara has been arguably the most valuable defenceman and player in the 2013 playoffs however the Hawks have four forwards with more than 13 points in 17 games and Jonathan Toews isn’t one of them. Enough said about their depth up front. Bickell, Stalberg, Hossa, Handzus and Saad are all over two hundred pounds and average close to 6’3 in height.
Chicago’s D core has the ability to jump into the play and it will wreak havoc on Boston’s forwards. I expect a more wide open style than the Bruins prefer, exposing a patched up D that has done a terrific job thus far in these playoffs but hasn’t seen the likes of the Chicago group. Pittsburgh has great forwards but their D core isn’t what Chicago has and their forwards are not nearly as fast, skilled and heavy on the puck as Chicago notwithstanding Crosby and Malkin.
In the end Chicago wins in five or six games with Boston’s magical season supported by #bostonstrong regretfully coming to an end!