What a shame it is that we won’t see Marc Savard play in the NHL this season. What a shame it is that he may never play in the league again.
Savard was at the top of his game when Matt Cooke delivered a blind side, open ice hit to his head. He had played 5 years in a row with well over a point per game average, and missed only 8 games in the 4 seasons prior to the year in which the hit occurred. Marc was one of the best.
Since then the news is all bad. He was on the IR for the rest of the 2009-2010 season. Last year Savard missed the first 23 games to post concussion syndrome. He returned to play in only 25 before suffering another concussion against Colorado on January 22nd of this year. He hasn’t played a single game since.
It sucks that we might see this guy join the likes of Eric Lindros, Pat Lafontaine, Paul Kariya and countless others who have had their careers shortened by a split second in time where a back was turned or a head was down.
Gary Bettman has responded with a plan to hopefully ensure better player safety. It includes alterations to equipment, the glass around the rink, and player\trainer protocol immediately after suspecting a concussion or brain trauma. Also expect more accountability to both the player and franchise should an illegal hit occur.
Sports and concussions go hand in hand, we know that will never change. Hopefully the NHL has found ways to minimize how often they happen. Maybe the equipment is too hard. Maybe the fines need to be stiffer. All I know is I have my fingers crossed for Marc. If he can’t recover from his post concussion issues then Marc Savard, and the game of hockey, will have suffered a huge loss.