Name: Mark Howe
Date: December 27, 1980.
Period: Third (Late)
Injury: Howe crashed feet-first into the goal cage and impaled himself on a metal post at the center of the net. This injury led directly to the contemporary cage’s redesign, which no longer features any exposed steel within. Howe was removed from the ice on a stretcher, treated in the hospital for a deep laceration to his left thigh and buttocks. The puncture narrowly missed the base of his spine.
Name: Trent McCleary’s
Date: January 29, 2000
Injury: Struck in the throat by a slapshot from Philadelphia’s Chris Therien while he fell to the ice attempting to block the shot. The injury caused McCleary’s throat to immediately collapse, making it difficult to breathe. Several surgeries were required before he could regain his speech. He never played again.
Name: Clint Malarchuk
Date: March 1989
Injury: Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues and the Sabre’s Uwe Krupp collided near Malarchuk’s goal crease, and Tuttle’s skate caught Malarchuk on the neck, slicing open his external carotid artery. With pools of blood filling virtually the entirety of the goal crease, Malarchuk somehow left the ice under his own power with the assistance of the Sabres’ team trainer. Many in the Buffalo arena were physically sickened by the sight, with seven fainting and two suffering heart attacks. Television cameras covering the game instantly cut away from the sight of Malarchuk. Malarchuk spent only one night in the hospital, and was back on the ice with his team two weeks later. However, Marlarchuk’s performance never regain top form over the next few years, to the point that he left the NHL.
Name: Gordie Howe
Date: 1950 (Playoff Game)
Injury: Howe attempted to bodycheck Ted “Teeder” Kennedy. Kennedy stopped abruptly and Howe went crashing into the end boards head first. He lay unconscious on the ice, blood covering his face. He had fractured his skull and wasn’t expected to survive, and an operation was performed to relieve the pressure on his brain. He was obviously out for the rest of the playoffs, but he did make a remarkable recovery . . . in the sense that he went on to continue playing professional hockey into the 1980s! The Wings, stirred by Howe’s injury, defeated the Leafs in overtime of the seventh game, ending Toronto’s three-year reign as Stanley Cup champions.
Name: Pat Peake
Date: 1996
Injury: Peake went feet-first into the end boards, ending with calamitous results. He had shattered his right heel. The injury was so severe that media accounts at the time included the assessments of various orthopedists who claimed that its like was seen only among construction workers who’d endured significant falls . . . from platforms and highrises. Peake underwent numerous extensive surgeries, but he never truly recovered. He returned in time to play some games with the Portland Pirates and a few more with the Caps, but he was snakebit by additional injuries — including a concussion from a car wreck.
Name: Howie Morenz’s
Date: January 28, 1937
Injury: Morenz suffered a multiple fracture broken leg. But he lost more than his career that night: it eventually took his life as a result of complications on March 8, 1937. Morenz was actually recovering well in the hospital. Legend has it that Howie became upset and suffered a nervous breakdown over reports suggesting that a benefit game was going to be played for him (which eventually did happen). The Canadiens’ team physician X-rayed Morenz’s leg and found blood clots on the morning of March 8th, 1937, and while an operation was scheduled for the following day, Howie never made it to the operating table. Attempts to revive him failed, and Morenz was dead at the age of 34.
Name: Irvine “Ace” Bailey
Date: December 1933
Injury: Eddie Shore, the story has it, viciously checked Bailey from behind, apparently in retaliation for a hit he had received from King Clancy moments earlier. Bailey’s body was hurled through the air, and he landed on his head. Bailey recovered enough to attend what emerged as the NHL’s first All-Star game, held at Maple Leaf Gardens, for his benefit on February 14, 1934. Bailey and Shore shook hands and embraced at center ice before the game began. But Bailey never played hockey again.
Name: Bill Masterson’s
Date: On January 13, 1968
Injury: Masterson struck his head on the ice during a game against the Oakland Seals. He died forty-eight hours later. It’s a wonder this didn’t happen more often in the pre-helmet days, but it’s also true that players had far greater respect for one another precisely because of this vulnerability.
Name: Bryan Berard
Date: 2000
Injury: Berard was struck in the eye by the stick of Ottawa Senators’ forward Marian Hossa. In the hospital room after the incident, Berard was told that he’d likely lose the eye. No one in hockey expected him to play again, but he did recover enough to suit up in the league again, and play well, yet his damaged eye, after seven eye operations, improved his vision in the eye only to 20/600 (or legally blind).
Name: Borje Salming
Dtae: 1986
Injury: Salming had his face stepped on by a skate, requiring 250 stitches to repair him.
Name: Wayne Cashman
Date: 1972
Injury: Ulf Sterner's stick got lodged in Cashman's mouth, lacerating his tongue. Cashman needed approximately 50 stitches in his tongue. one of the most painful injuries in hockey history.
Date: December 27, 1980.
Period: Third (Late)
Injury: Howe crashed feet-first into the goal cage and impaled himself on a metal post at the center of the net. This injury led directly to the contemporary cage’s redesign, which no longer features any exposed steel within. Howe was removed from the ice on a stretcher, treated in the hospital for a deep laceration to his left thigh and buttocks. The puncture narrowly missed the base of his spine.
Name: Trent McCleary’s
Date: January 29, 2000
Injury: Struck in the throat by a slapshot from Philadelphia’s Chris Therien while he fell to the ice attempting to block the shot. The injury caused McCleary’s throat to immediately collapse, making it difficult to breathe. Several surgeries were required before he could regain his speech. He never played again.
Name: Clint Malarchuk
Date: March 1989
Injury: Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues and the Sabre’s Uwe Krupp collided near Malarchuk’s goal crease, and Tuttle’s skate caught Malarchuk on the neck, slicing open his external carotid artery. With pools of blood filling virtually the entirety of the goal crease, Malarchuk somehow left the ice under his own power with the assistance of the Sabres’ team trainer. Many in the Buffalo arena were physically sickened by the sight, with seven fainting and two suffering heart attacks. Television cameras covering the game instantly cut away from the sight of Malarchuk. Malarchuk spent only one night in the hospital, and was back on the ice with his team two weeks later. However, Marlarchuk’s performance never regain top form over the next few years, to the point that he left the NHL.
Name: Gordie Howe
Date: 1950 (Playoff Game)
Injury: Howe attempted to bodycheck Ted “Teeder” Kennedy. Kennedy stopped abruptly and Howe went crashing into the end boards head first. He lay unconscious on the ice, blood covering his face. He had fractured his skull and wasn’t expected to survive, and an operation was performed to relieve the pressure on his brain. He was obviously out for the rest of the playoffs, but he did make a remarkable recovery . . . in the sense that he went on to continue playing professional hockey into the 1980s! The Wings, stirred by Howe’s injury, defeated the Leafs in overtime of the seventh game, ending Toronto’s three-year reign as Stanley Cup champions.
Name: Pat Peake
Date: 1996
Injury: Peake went feet-first into the end boards, ending with calamitous results. He had shattered his right heel. The injury was so severe that media accounts at the time included the assessments of various orthopedists who claimed that its like was seen only among construction workers who’d endured significant falls . . . from platforms and highrises. Peake underwent numerous extensive surgeries, but he never truly recovered. He returned in time to play some games with the Portland Pirates and a few more with the Caps, but he was snakebit by additional injuries — including a concussion from a car wreck.
Name: Howie Morenz’s
Date: January 28, 1937
Injury: Morenz suffered a multiple fracture broken leg. But he lost more than his career that night: it eventually took his life as a result of complications on March 8, 1937. Morenz was actually recovering well in the hospital. Legend has it that Howie became upset and suffered a nervous breakdown over reports suggesting that a benefit game was going to be played for him (which eventually did happen). The Canadiens’ team physician X-rayed Morenz’s leg and found blood clots on the morning of March 8th, 1937, and while an operation was scheduled for the following day, Howie never made it to the operating table. Attempts to revive him failed, and Morenz was dead at the age of 34.
Name: Irvine “Ace” Bailey
Date: December 1933
Injury: Eddie Shore, the story has it, viciously checked Bailey from behind, apparently in retaliation for a hit he had received from King Clancy moments earlier. Bailey’s body was hurled through the air, and he landed on his head. Bailey recovered enough to attend what emerged as the NHL’s first All-Star game, held at Maple Leaf Gardens, for his benefit on February 14, 1934. Bailey and Shore shook hands and embraced at center ice before the game began. But Bailey never played hockey again.
Name: Bill Masterson’s
Date: On January 13, 1968
Injury: Masterson struck his head on the ice during a game against the Oakland Seals. He died forty-eight hours later. It’s a wonder this didn’t happen more often in the pre-helmet days, but it’s also true that players had far greater respect for one another precisely because of this vulnerability.
Name: Bryan Berard
Date: 2000
Injury: Berard was struck in the eye by the stick of Ottawa Senators’ forward Marian Hossa. In the hospital room after the incident, Berard was told that he’d likely lose the eye. No one in hockey expected him to play again, but he did recover enough to suit up in the league again, and play well, yet his damaged eye, after seven eye operations, improved his vision in the eye only to 20/600 (or legally blind).
Name: Borje Salming
Dtae: 1986
Injury: Salming had his face stepped on by a skate, requiring 250 stitches to repair him.
Name: Wayne Cashman
Date: 1972
Injury: Ulf Sterner's stick got lodged in Cashman's mouth, lacerating his tongue. Cashman needed approximately 50 stitches in his tongue. one of the most painful injuries in hockey history.
