16x9 - Suffering in Silence: NHL concussion issue 

NHL doesnt care about its players. As long as fans come to the games and spend their money, they'll be happy. Everything else comes secondary. Its sad.

The scariest thing is that CTE develops from SUB concussive level impacts. Years of playing contact sports, even without experiencing a single concussion, puts a person at an extremely elevated risk of developing CTE.

STAGE FIGHTING IS THE ISSUE HERE FOLKS. The goon/enforcer role has been pretty much eliminated which is the best thing the NHL has ever done. That being said, fighting will always have a place in the game. The players police the game. I have only been in 1 fight on the ice and I was terrified/excited. I couldn’t imagine doing that 20-25 Times a year.

Georges Laraque will never be forgotten in AIK from Sweden. You are a legend here too Georgie!

The vast majority of concussions in the nhl come from hits not fights

Love the interviewer you can see the compassion on her face .

My first concussion was related to a hockey incident I got hit from behind and hit my head on the ice I had my helmet on that ended my hockey than the other five or six concussions that I had were all due to my own stupidity now I sit here and I get headaches I’m on pills for depression anxiety mood swings I think altogether I’ve probably had five or six concussions maybe six maybe seven all due to the fact that my head hit the ground so you don’t necessarily have to be a hockey player to suffer a number of concussions I just lost my dad November 1, 2021 my mother passed away 2006 my marriage fell apart and I still suffer I sit and do a lot of thinking as to why I feel this way back when I was 16 the doctor put me on Champak‘s to quit smoking and I had a chemical in balance to my brain now I am on pills for the rest of my life I asked the doctor how long do I have to be on these pills for he told me for the rest of my life I tried committing suicide here just after my father passed away by drinking and taking pills it did not work I guess the good Lord has other plans for me here on earth so I sit here ruminating as to why I feel this way thank you for listening D Zora

These nhl players sound like Chris Benoit from WWE.. Head Injurys cause suicidal, depression, and rage.

I am not a die hard hockey fan but I do follow it. I noticed a difference in the game. There’s less hitting and maybe less fighting. Maybe I am wrong but that’s better for these players. Maybe less will suffer from cte.

Boogeyman, oh boogeyman. I miss you man. I hated it when my team played against you, but you always put on a show. Much respect.

I love hockey and have been playing since I was 4 (i'm 16) and I agree that fighting is tragic and causes alot of mediocre pain and suffering but the thing is fighting is a part of hockey stuff like this just has to be looked at in a perspective on smarter fighting or just...idk how to put this AT ALL but I just think taking fighting from hockey is like taking diving from soccer or whatever its just part of the game

Let's get bettman on the ice against each teams enforcer for a whole season and see how his brain end up.

Getting hit into the boards does more damage than hockey fights. Its the constant acceleration and sudden stop of the brain that causes the damage. There is way more impact getting boarded than punched.

without fighting players would stoop to other levels on getting the message across to the opposing team so for everybody saying fighting is stupid just imagine what else a enforcer can do

Played hockey all my life ,I've had 4 concussions ,and I'm 45 it's not the fighting it's the punishment.but it's the hits legal /not legal that caused my concussions......

They tried scaling back fighting drastically in the '90s and all it did was get players to resort to using their twigs as weapons. I agree that fighting is going the way of the dodo bird, but like the dodo bird, it's going to take time. If you ban fighting right now, you'll revert back to swinging sticks and look where that got Donald Brashear and Marty McSorely.

"don't do it" is never going to work. Where there is hockey, there will always be fighting.

I'm 100% Canadian & lifelong hockey fanatic, and I say to the granpas - fighting has to go. This stupid & dangerous practice tarnishes the most beautiful game on the planet. NHL needs to adopt International Hockey rules: you fight = you're OUT. There was no fighting in Sotchi, and the games as exciting as in the NHL.

Didn't see Neal's hit either, I'm only watching one series at a time. If it wasn't plainly obvious, I was watching someone else, thought it was just a misspelling of Chris Neil (that NYR fans were bawling about for a clean hit on Boyle).

It’s not just fighting though it’s hard I love the game and hope to keep playing

JMO: I suspect if you look into these guys' pasts you'll find a history of depression/etc. Making the sole reason they each died was because they were enforcers is tenuous at best. The concussions won't help at all, and neither will drugs. Once it gets to that point, it should be a personal decision whether to quit or stay.

2 40 there are kids starving on the streets but this guy making good money has it rough

if there was more skilled players then we wouldn't need so many enforcers

Concussions and suicide, you're not tough anymore. That's where I draw the line. Fighting has to go.

I think you're probably right about that. Guys seem so much faster and bigger than they were 20 years ago.

Fighting in hockey will never be takin out it has been there since the start of the NHL, it is ashame that 3 inforcers lost their lives, but taking fighting out wont do anything about it .

all these fighters from the NHL talking about getting it taken out of the game...they do realize if that happened they would never have played in the pro's right?

Seems everyone forgot about John Kordic and what happened to him.

i dont remembwr this at all, n been a avid nhl follower since 8th grade im 31 soo

I agree fights in some ways, for an example payback for a dirty hit. In my opinion it's much better way to settle the score than to get revenge by giving a dirty hit back. But these fights that has nothing to do with the game and are just for entertainment, I don't agree

That was 12 years ago

Malkin, maybe, I haven't seen the hit earlier this week... Neil's check on Boyle was solid though, had Boyle kept his head up that check would never have happened. If an enforcer wants to deal with someone, they can. Finesse players don't usually need to resort to fighting/dirty hits, when they do though, they're not a finesse player.

It is an integral part in my opinion, I see the argument for against however. But I believe it needs to stay, it's a sport like no other, and believe me I've played other contact, very physical, sports. It's a game on ice that's played flat out all the time, with no where for the puck or players to escape easily. I believe that the ability to defend your team is very important. If a guy goes for your scorers or young players he better be prepared to pay the price. I have only respect for the fighters, I'm not one and can't imagine what they feel but I am appreciative of what they do. I prefer to see good goals and plays over fights but I understand why they are there, perhaps regulations need to come in some way but I think it should stay. Just my opinion, I won't judge if you disagree.

I don't think the NHL has been "noncommittal" on the issue of fighting. They very clearly support its inclusion in the game.

3 heavyweight fighters? didnt know Rypien was a heavyweight :D

They have should have given more air time to the other side of this issue. After some years watching hockey, I've come to a conclusion closer to this piece's message, but there should have been arguments presented against it, and I don't think that it was adequately dealt with in this film.

GLOBAL TV PLEASE BRING BACK 16 X 9 !

No other pro sport allows fighting, they get kicked out of the game

If the NHL eliminates fighting, the quality of the game would improve...Mr. Thompson is 100% correct...

Hello there!!!

don't forget tom cavanagh. not a fighter but he did commit suicide the same year. played for the san jose sharks.

holy putting words into laraque's mouth

I would put money down that the vast majority of concussions in the NHL come not from fights, but from bodychecks, both legal and illegal. Over the past 30 years, players have gotten exponentially bigger, faster and stronger and the ice surface has remained the same size. Do the math. Fighting is the easy boogeyman to blame but it's not the right one.

Sad but fighting is a part of the game..

nobody forces these guys to fight they singed on for it!

No different from any professional athletes who participate in contact sports what about pitchers who throw their damn arms out who also are addicted to painkillers

I LOVE hockey. I HATE the shame of fighting in it. It's hypocrisy and thuggery. GET. IT.OUT. Thank goodness the NFL throws you out of the game, fines you, and probably suspends you for what they allow in hockey. Wannabes think it somehow makes them tough -- the FANS, I mean.

Fighting belongs in Hockey ! If you do not want to fight, play soccer or basketball or golf. hockey IS A MAN'S GAME !

Fighting will continue in the NHL not because there is health concern but because there is economic concern.

Damn This is Harsh

I hate typing on an eye pad. I give up

I think 1 death is TOO much let alone at least 3 that's crazy. I mean im a hockey player and I think fighting should be gone or at least if the refs see someone is getting really beaten brake it up like for one a was at a flyers game Zach rinaldo beat someone the guy got knocked out that really bad considering the could lead to a death

I was addicted to benzos for about 13 years... Now I moved to Ukraine. There are no drugs available. Now I am clean. But "clean" does not mean, that you are functioning.... I just didn't want it to become "14 Years"....

Fighting isnt about this, its about protecting crosby

If you can't pronounce the names you have no say if fighting shoukd be in or out

We can change this entirely - check out our Facebook page for Thermopraxis Fundraising Campaign. If people wake up and realize there is an emergency device that will prevent the dire consequences of a concussion, needless deaths and life-long mental problems can b averted.

I think the NHL should change the role of Enforcer. Enforcer's should just hit people not drop the gloves that often to prevent concussions. You can't take fighting away that's 100% sure but you can try and reduce it a bit.

Link...CTE.

I've never been able to understand why there's fighting in hockey. It's a sport where people hit a glorified coin with a 2D golf stick - what has fighting got to do with it all.

these players made the decision knowing about the consequences. All they had to do was to refuse the " meathead" role. Fighting has been in hockey forever. Its their choice. I feel bad but not totally

Nobody is forcing these guys to fight. If you didn't have the talent to be a productive player then walk away. We're all responsible for our own actions.

Why did Nick Kyprios work on the panel for the NHL if he was so against them ? Hypocrites love to get paid just like everybody else .

I spent 11 years beating the shit out of people for a paycheque. No the nhl has nothing to offer me so I’ll blame them for my part in the league. Didn’t wanna do it either get better at the game or get a desk job

also for the mom at the end i know its sad but body checks have killed people does that mean we should take out all hitting? travis roy turned the wrong waytrying to make a check in his first shift for Boston U. and was paralyzed, should we take the boards out? i think grant fuhr or some goalie was cut badly in the throat by a skate blade, should that be eliminated from the game? no were left with girls field hockey

oh yeah fight fight fight

its not the enforcers, what about Savard, Horton, Bergeron, Crosby, Toews, Sedin, Giroux and all the others we dont know about. theres been guys who've dropped the gloves 10x as much as vandenboush and belak. the fact is one punch, 1 check or 1 collision can give you a concussion. but look at the last few years who missed more games fighters or skilled players who got hit dirty? Marc Savard is having memory problems and migraines and fighting has nothing 2 do with it. leave fighting in the game

hockey will always be a backwater sport of irrelevancy on the world stage untill their fans can get with the times. If Laraque says theres a problem, your opinion is irrelevant -Canadian hockey fan for 20 years

I don't get it. How did a player put there to drop their sticks and fight another one EVER become part of a game except boxing? Hockey is ridiculous.

It would help if she pronounced the names right

Fighting will always be part of the game

This lady is a joke, the enforcerbis there to protect their teammates

Non fighting comments coming from non players. European leagues have way worse head shots n high sticks. This is biased. Only 5% concussion come from Fighting. Most from whiplash hits

yes thats true but people like malkin and neal can do what they want, no enforcer can stop them.

Screwed up. Sorry. UFC g

You could choose not to play hockey and make 1/100th of the money, or live life fast and rich. They have a choice, why feel bad?

You dont have to fight ffs, if that's the only way to get into the NHL for you, than its no different than someone risking it all to make a million.

Let's explore Radko Gudas's opinion of who "The people who want to take fighting out of hockey are....." Since he's about as intelligent as a single celled paramecium, this shouldn't be difficult. I hope the paramecium isn't offended. ~Women~ Make that Mothers as well. Most women are nurturing, loving and will make incredible sacrifices for their children. Men are as well but, until you've carried a baby under your heart for 9 months, you'll probably never know how deep the capacity for love is. Even you had a mother. Women will always prefer skill and intelligence over "Duh, I just slam' em into the boards or beat their face in." We also prefer good looks, another department in which you have unfortunately been short changed. Some men can rock a beard like Hendrix rocks a guitar. You are not one of them. Not only are you stupid, you're ugly. Ugly can be fixed, stupid is forever. ~Not Hockey Fans~ If they're not a hockey fan, why would they care about fighting? ~New Age Hockey Fans~ Fans today have more hockey savvy than in the past. Whether you like it or not, the game is evolving into the "sport" of hockey in which "skill" is the name of the game. The game is extremely intricate and to be a great hockey player you must have "hockey sense." Where is the puck? Where are your teammates and the opposing players? Who's on offense or defense? Where are each of them on the ice? Who is open? Where is someone going, or likely to go? What play is being set up? In other words...just exactly what are you going to do to get the puck in the net? The list of skills needed to be a "hockey savant" is endless. Just in case you don't know what a "savant" is, it's someone who demonstrates profound and prodigious capacities or abilities far in excess of what would be considered normal. Usually a savant is a person with a developmental disability, such as an autism spectrum disorder, but the term "savant" has often been used to refer to someone who is exceptionally gifted at something. Thus, Gretzky, Crosby, Ovechkin, Toews, Kane, etc. could be referred to as "hockey savants." If you're still stuck in the bench clearing brawl era, watch RU-vid. There are plenty of knuckle busting, bloody, cheap shot good old days there. ~XXXXXXX~ Once again, you have proved you are still wallowing in the shallow end of the gene pool. Intelligence is not your strong point. ~People who are too soft to play hockey~ Players today are too smart to play stupid hockey. CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a progressive, degenerative disease found in people who have had a severe blow or repeated blows to the head. CTE has been most commonly found in professional athletes participating in American football, rugby, ice hockey, boxing, professional wrestling, stunt performing, bull riding, rodeo, and other contact sports who have experienced repeated concussions or other brain trauma. Stop banging your head against the boards and it might not be too late for you. ~The moral of the story is~ Never argue with an idiot, you will lose every time! Gudas is proof of that. His IQ, at best, is in the double digits. By the time he gets done playing hockey he'll be sitting alone in some dumpy apartment or hotel, addicted to pain killers, booze and wondering why he can't put a two word sentence together. I hope he still has his mother, he's going to need her.

GET RID OF FIGHTING

Not to have no sympathy you can't take fighting from hockey It's part of the sport that said increasing penalty an concussion protocol would help alot

No, that's not right. Enforcers have a dual role, one is to spark up the team and the crowd... the other is to keep the other team from taking liberties with their stars. Look in the KHL, Swedish league... TONS of dirty hits, sketchy plays etc. NHL has that, but if you know that there will be direct retribution, you don't go after the other guy's head so readily. I don't like seeing guys beating on each other for no reason, but we can deal with goons like that, and have been.

fighting is in hockey, deal with it. yes this is tragic, no one is denying that. but to eliminate fighting from hockey because of a few odd case seems ridiculous. at the very most there should be more medical attention given to players

No one forces these guys to fight. If they aren't talented enough to play a more skilled role on their teams, they resort to fighting to maintain a roster spot. Either play at a lower professional level where the competition isn't as strong, or learn the skills required to transition your career to something else. The NHL doesn't need to have fights to be successful. I wouldn't mind having fighting banned (as well as these head-hunting hitters out there), but guys like this would be out of jobs.

😭

In life, everything has risks, Hockey is no exception. I am sure the players knew that when they started playing the game. Cutting out fighting will just force players to stuff their emotions to only have them explode and cause even more problems. In other words, LEAVE THE DAMN GAME ALONE!!! Stop trying to sissify the game. That's including football and soccer.

If they don't want to fight then they should just stop playing and let someone else do it

But people moan about it but they still buy tickets so if you’re buying a ticket how can you moan

And yet UFC and boxing exists ...this is part of the sport weather you like it or not. Players know the risks, but they fight anyway. We're lucky players even wear helmets and we have rules against beating the shit out of each other with sticks unlike the early days of hockey. I'd say its come a long way, and I don't see how fighting is any different from UFC or boxing. part of the game

Skates Have Killed some Hockey players Are you telling me to Remove Skates? How About Hits, Remove HIts? I Think You Shouldn't Be Able To Hit People In The head IMO

Concussions arent related to fighting, the game itself is the reason. The checks, the collisions, the whatevers. Figjting doesnt help, but it's only a small percentage of the problem. The problem is the speed of the game, the contact and the equipment. Watch "Ice Guardians" and they're right. We blame fighting, without realizing what the actual problem is. But we all blame fighting.

We are all going to die

Hockey is not boxing. We are not barbarians. Get rid of the fighting. Get rid of the hard hits that cause concussions. These guys are sons and father and husbands. They don't know the risks they're taking. They're young and strong and don't think it'll happen to them. We have to protect them and not be entertained by their pain and misery.

everything involves the mind the will and the emotions. i beg to differ, Mr. Masson. If that weren't the case, there wouldn't be any troubles in the world. You are what you think!

Interviewer is hot af

totally nuts! I'm going to listen some redheaded broad lecture on oh fighting is bad?! BS! Crosby got nailed because there are no consequences for running stars; start a fight its 5-2-10...more head injuries are from hitting...they've taken hitting out of minor hockey; kids don't skate with their heads up, and cant take contact...weak. Hockey is an aggressive sport. Its all these non-hockey playing Pablum puking mostly women ruining our game. Just stop!

Not sold. UFC guys take way more abuse tot eh

The fighting has to be there. It has to, it's part of the game. But the enforcers need to be supported and they need to know what they are getting in to.

This video really pisses me off. Fighting isn't going anywhere. This lady's son died because his helmet came off when he was in a mix up with some other player and his head smacked the ice. Now it's because they were "fighting"... give me a break. This reporter has no idea what the game of hockey truly is. Nor do they understand why fighting is allowed in hockey.... Go watch a game and open up a book.

So sick of the players whining about CTE, their own ambition got them in the situation, they knew it was dangerous, but did it anyway. its an attempt to gain money and benefits. Accept personal responsibility.

Sissy squad

Concussions are a problem but it has nothing to do with these deaths. Belak's was accidental and Rypien suffered from depression since he was a kid. They had nothing to do with concussions