Opinion: Lawsuits and deaths make it harder for the NHL to continue sanctioning fighting.

Steve Montador died suddenly on the weekend, aged 35

 
You might have read my recent article on how, after reading the tragic tale of Derek Boogaard in Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Branch’s excellent book ‘Boy on Ice – The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard’, I’ve completely reversed my stance on fighting in hockey, now siding with those who want it gone.

I’d scarcely finished typing it in the aftermath of turning the last page of Branch’s book, when I saw an article on Yahoo’s excellent hockey blog, Puck Daddy. It told of another tragic occurrence: the death of former NHL defenceman Steve Montador. Like Boogaard and the feared Bob Probert, Montador spent a lot of his time in the League punching guys, fulfilling the role of enforcer for many teams, Minnesota, Chicago and Florida amongst others, amassing more than 500 NHL games before ending his career in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.

The article indicated that although no cause of death had yet been determined – there will be an autopsy – the death was not being ruled as a suspicious one. I couldn’t believe it. I’d just gotten done writing about how the pressures of being an NHL enforcer had turned Boogaard into an addict, before dying after swallowing a dangerous cocktail of drugs and alcohol, and news of Montador’s death reached me.

By now you’ve probably heard of the brain condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be determined post-mortem and manifests itself in a series of nasty symptoms that include early onset memory loss, depression, aggressive behaviour and more. It’s actually a scientific cousin to Alzheimer’s disease, itself a terrible affliction.

Both Derek Boogaard and Bob Probert, as well as NFL stars Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, were found to have suffered from CTE, which is. Seau and Duerson went so far as to deliberately inflict their fatal gunshot wounds at their chest, so that their brains could be donated to research.

It’s a chillingly automatic thought for most hockey fans these days. Well, it is for me, at any rate. When a guy with a history of fighting (and particularly if they survived through the brawl-filled days of the 1980s and 1990s) dies like Montador and Boogaard tragically did, my mind certainly thinks CTE. It’s particularly true in this case because Montador had spoken openly about his battles with concussion.

Yes, the cause of death might not be a self-inflicted gunshot or anything similar – Boogaard overdosed and Bob Probert died of a heart attack – but I worry that, when Montador’s brain is examined, that the beginning stages, or worse, of CTE will be discovered. That will, in turn, turn up the blowtorch on those who still believe fighting has a place in the game.

I’m a recent convert to the ‘Ban Fighting’ club, and even if you relish the idea of seeing guys drop the gloves every now and again on NHL ice as very recently did, you must surely recognise that there is a disturbing pattern here. Yes, there are other means of sustaining concussions, which, in the simplest of terms, is the brain bouncing off the inside of the skull. Sometimes thee concussions occur from seemingly innocuous run-of-the-mill hits and CTE is especially caused by not so much anvil-type blows, but many repeated blows to the head, but there can be no doubt that, despite what modern medicine can achieve in terms of treatment, having a guy’s fist pound at your head every night cannot be good. It absolutely is not good. Doctors can only do so much.

We’ve seen some of the best in the NHL retire due to concussion – Chris Pronger, of Anaheim and of late, Philadelphia, is a perfect example of a guy who will never play again due to concussion issues, and Michael Sauer, a talented, up-and-coming defenceman for my New York Rangers will likely never play again due to concussions.

These players are making wise choices, protecting their long-term future, and a lot of that has to do with these other cautionary tales. Where guys might previously have pushed it a little bit further, and possibly have sustained another concussion, they are realising that discretion is the better part of valour. No one wants to consider the idea that they might not recognise their friends and family in a few years, or have some other debilitating brain-related injury if they keep going.

Those choices are made because of what happened to the Probert’s, Boogaard’s and Seau’s of the world. It’s a shame that those men did not have the benefit of such awareness, or they might still be with us today. So to, Steve Montador. Hopefully these men can be a catalyst for change.

The coming weeks and months will be interesting, if morbidly so. Plenty of people in the hockey community will await the outcome of the autopsy. If there are signs of CTE, there will be a new firestorm surrounding the NHL. Count Commissioner Garry Bettman amongst those who like fighting and would like to see it remain.

You know, that’s all well and good, except that the League is likely to be facing a slew of law suits. Indeed, another was recently filed by a group of 29 players in Minnesota earlier this month, spearheaded by former star ‘Butch’ Goring – surrounding the measures, or, more correctly, lack thereof, surrounding concussions back in the day.

The more of these lawsuits there are, the harder it is going to be to allow fighting to continue. Of course, fighting is not the only cause of concussion, but the sheer number of enforcers who have had issues surrounding concussion and CTE and depression certainly points to a prevalence of these problems amongst guys who basically fought for a living.

Vale Steve Montador, dead far too soon at 35. Let us hope that his tragic death was not caused by injuries sustained playing the game he loved.