Analysis shows former Blackhawk Steve Montador had CTE

[TCD]

Yah hockey culture is actually just fine. In fact its incredibly fun and a beautiful thing and has brought people together world wide unlike any other pro sport maybe even more so than soccer. Sooo If you dont like it then stop paying attention to it. Learn the game and its history before bitching about every little thing about it. It gets tiresome hearing about " its the culture of the game" as a negative when in fact that culture is very rich in positives.

And stop treating concussions in the nhl like its an epidemic because it is not. For every one person with or who will have a serious head trama issues there are thousands who never have had nor will have an issue. That includes fighters. Nature of competitive contact sport. People are going to have long term effects physically and even mentally. Im glad that everyone gets a voice but sometimes the negative voice is so exploited it creates epidemic attitudes.

 

[ClydeLee]

Highly doubt hockey fights are leading to CTE. Do you guys even watch hockey fights?

MAYBE 2 shots even land.

Fighting is entertaining... its not going anywhere.

Get over it or GTFO.

Fans don't give a shit about player's brains after they're done making millions of dollars by choice.

Plenty of them don't have many or any.. then there is ones like this which I already had linked above.

Carcillo vs Montador and Carcillo got seriously, a dozen hits to the head of Montador in a row. That certainly would of made up for the 12 other fights he had that season alone.

http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/63761

 

[Variable]

Ahhh something new, a revenge oriented aspect of hockey culture which only contributes more injuries as a positive. Great. Gotta add that one to the list of stupid reasons fighting needs to stay a part of the game.

 

[HeHateMe]

Ahhh something new, a revenge oriented aspect of hockey culture which only contributes more injuries as a positive. Great. Gotta add that one to the list of stupid reasons fighting needs to stay a part of the game.

You know hockey is a contact sport, right?

 

[Spunky Porkstacker]

Ahhh something new, a revenge oriented aspect of hockey culture which only contributes more injuries as a positive. Great. Gotta add that one to the list of stupid reasons fighting needs to stay a part of the game.

:enough:

 

[Variable]

Yep, contact sport. Not revenge oriented sport. People always seem to forget when this topic comes up, that when there was no instigator penalty and the enforcers of the league pretty much were off the leash, free to "police the game" at their will, it wasn't a "safer" time, it was the all time most dangerous, violent era of the sport. There were more penalties than ever, and that's excluding fighting majors. I'm talking things like cross checks, elbowing, boarding. Serious fucking penalties. None of that stuff got cut down or was detered. There was more of it then ever before. The "rats" and "enforcers" were at times one and the same. They would be doing the same shit. The logic was that you would need a guy like Colton Orr to "protect" players from a guy like Colton Orr. It was, and is, just pure insane reasoning.

Hey,if you're fan of that style of hockey, go for it, you got a whole era to catch up on there. But to me it's pointless. Anybody can put their fucking elbow through another player's skull, but not everyone can do what Kane or Hossa can do. And wasn't guys like Bollig or John Scott or Ben Eager or Adam Burish or whichever player like that made what they did possible because they were "protected."

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

You guy's started it not me...

 

[TCD]

Yah those skilled players like Kane and Hossa didnt exist in the era of fighting. Every line was full of unskilled goons like the Oilers. Bunch of Mcsorelys through the lineup. Those Pens teams had nothing but goons on the first line down.

Dooooooooiiiiiiiiiii!!!

That one goon on most teams sure did take up roster space for the skilled guys like Rundblad.

 

[Variable]

Simple as this Grim: Don't like it, don't want to discuss it? Then don't. That easy. But you have a tough time with simple ideas like that.

 

[Variable]

Yah those skilled players like Kane and Hossa didnt exist in the era of fighting


Dooooooooiiiiiiiiiii!!!

Ah yes, the good ole game of "I never said that". There were plenty of superstars to watch during that era, arguably the greatest of all time. But overall, the game was the most violent that it ever was because it was simply a never ending cycle of revenge which had very little consequence put out by the league to try and curtail it.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

Simple as this Variable: Don't like it, don't want to discuss it? Then don't. That easy. But you have a tough time with simple ideas like that.

 

[TCD]

Dont you love when fans of fighting are discussing it and reliving some fun fights then the anti-fighting crowd has to step in and start giving reasons why fighting is bad mmmkay. Dumbing is down as if we dont know the counter arguments already as hockey fans who pay attention to the politics of the game also?

Aka being fucking smug

 

[HawkWriter]

A couple of thoughts...

I doubt Montador's brain conditions are because of fights and fights alone. Maybe they contributed but shoulders to the head, elbows to the head, the head hitting the ice, etc etc probably did more damage than fights.

When it comes to fighting in the NHL, it has a place and I think it is in a good place right now. Fights are declining because teams are no longer (for the most part) carrying that goon that can't crossover and is only out there to police the ice. That is valuable cap space a team is wasting on a guy who isn't going to contribute and can't police and doesn't have the need to like there was in the past. The difference from the best player in the NHL to the worst is so dramatically different than in the 90s, 80s, etc. The goon is dead but players like Shaw, Prust, Roussel, etc are valuable because they aren't afraid to get physical and fight...but they can also play the game and contribute on the scoreboard.

I think I have a unique perspective because I've been in several hockey fights (as I'm sure a few others here have experienced). In no way was I a tough guy or someone that could pummel another player, but there was a time and place where it made sense in the eyes of myself or our team. Have to hold guys responsible for dirty hits (even if they get the best of you). I'm not a fan of a guy having to fight after making a clean hit, but if you take a liberty with another play from behind or to the head, I personally think that you need to be prepared to drop the gloves. Also, to change momentum or delay the game in a sense it make sense if someone else is willing to dance.

Quite frankly, I don't think fighting is a big contributor...the biggest part of a fight that contributes might be the taken down where a player hits his head on the ice. Quite frankly, it is more dangerous in Junior Hockey or AAA where players take their helmets off to engage. The NHL has done their best to get rid of players taking their helmets off.

 

[TCD]

Fighting after a clean hit is the dumbest shit ever. And you never saw that to the extremes you do now back in the fighting eras.

That should say something alone.

And yes that MMA take down garbage is more dangerous and again...not something you saw much of back in the fighting eras.

Great points hawkswriter.

I dont like hockey fighting now because its not hockey fighting. Hows that? Its a couple of guys who dont know how to fight and dont respect the other person so its uninteresting and garbage and for the most part unoragnic. Hockey fights now are far more dangerous than they used to be. Im fine for a league without fighting if its the bullshit fights we see now that are gone from the game. Good riddence.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

You guy's started it not me...

Sorry friend.

 

[Variable]

Simple as this Variable: Don't like it, don't want to discuss it? Then don't. That easy. But you have a tough time with simple ideas like that.

Well the point of the thread was thoughts on head trauma and fighting in hockey. Again, if you don't like certain views on it simply because you don't agree with it, why bother complaining about it? You say you don't give a shit about the long term health consequences and like fighting for for the entertainment of it. Fine. I'm not going to fucking cry and whine about you feeling that way about it. It's pointless. A question was asked, I'm answering the question with what I believe. Learn to deal with different opinions on hockey and everything will be okay, I promise you.

 

[TCD]

Furthermore

This isnt NHL exclusive. Where are all these law suites from old junior hockey players from dick small nowhere leagues and towns where hockey fighting wasnt only a massive part of the game but an event most saturday nights? Any of you grow up watching BCJHL or any other Junior B leagues in dick all nowhereville towns? Wanna see what hockey fights actually were back in the day? NHL hockey fights were tame in comparison.

I grew up watching the rossland warriors play the castlegar rebels and the spokane chiefs B league junior teams. Dirty dirty diiiiirty hockey. Was great!! Fans even got into it nightly with each other and with players outside the rink. You gotta love that its what stories are all about.

 

[HeHateMe]

I knew this board would get more active as i learned more about hockey and its finer points. Im happy that there is good dialogue here and people arent total knowitall haters. just geeking out a little bit, so sorry if im too noobish, but i like u guys.

 

[Variable]

A couple of thoughts...

I doubt Montador's brain conditions are because of fights and fights alone. Maybe they contributed but shoulders to the head, elbows to the head, the head hitting the ice, etc etc probably did more damage than fights.

When it comes to fighting in the NHL, it has a place and I think it is in a good place right now. Fights are declining because teams are no longer (for the most part) carrying that goon that can't crossover and is only out there to police the ice. That is valuable cap space a team is wasting on a guy who isn't going to contribute and can't police and doesn't have the need to like there was in the past. The difference from the best player in the NHL to the worst is so dramatically different than in the 90s, 80s, etc. The goon is dead but players like Shaw, Prust, Roussel, etc are valuable because they aren't afraid to get physical and fight...but they can also play the game and contribute on the scoreboard.

I think I have a unique perspective because I've been in several hockey fights (as I'm sure a few others here have experienced). In no way was I a tough guy or someone that could pummel another player, but there was a time and place where it made sense in the eyes of myself or our team. Have to hold guys responsible for dirty hits (even if they get the best of you). I'm not a fan of a guy having to fight after making a clean hit, but if you take a liberty with another play from behind or to the head, I personally think that you need to be prepared to drop the gloves. Also, to change momentum or delay the game in a sense it make sense if someone else is willing to dance.

Quite frankly, I don't think fighting is a big contributor...the biggest part of a fight that contributes might be the taken down where a player hits his head on the ice. Quite frankly, it is more dangerous in Junior Hockey or AAA where players take their helmets off to engage. The NHL has done their best to get rid of players taking their helmets off.

Personally, I've never argued it was a big contributor to it. My point has always been the idea behind allowing it. That if we let them throw haymakers at each other's skulls for a few minutes, maybe that'll stop them from making horrible hits. Or as you said, holding players responsible. And it's just never worked out that way. Never. It's been a complete failure in that.

So when I say it's a problem of culture, that's what I'm talking about. They league has to get it out of their heads that it's a viable way of deterring players from taking cheap shots or head hunting guys. Because it's not. Once they get past that, then things can start progressing from there. But they have to get past that hurdle first and look at fighting differently.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

Well the point of the thread was thoughts on head trauma and fighting in hockey. Again, if you don't like certain views on it simply because you don't agree with it, why bother complaining about it? You say you don't give a shit about the long term health consequences and like fighting for for the entertainment of it. Fine. I'm not going to fucking cry and whine about you feeling that way about it. It's pointless. A question was asked, I'm answering the question with what I believe. Learn to deal with different opinions on hockey and everything will be okay, I promise you.

CTE and Head trauma isn't caused by 1-2 punches that accidentally land in a hockey fight. Jesus Christ.