NHL Hockey thread

[jimmy olsen]

What do you guys think of this?

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/01/what-the-nhl-and-nhlpa-should-learn-from-a-year-filled-with-tragic-death/related/

What the NHL and NHLPA should learn from a year filled with tragic death

Joe Yerdon

Sep 1, 2011, 9:30 AM EDT
4 Comments
Wade Belak Getty Images

There's no way to be able to wrap your head around what's happened off the ice in the hockey world this year.

Since the start of 2011 we've seen four tragic deaths. Sharks minor leaguer Tom Cavanaugh, Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien, and now recently retired scrapper Wade Belak. Of those four, three of them are believed to be suicides (Rypien's cause of death is still yet unknown while Belak's is suspected to be a suicide) and Boogaard's came thanks to a toxic mix of painkillers and alcohol all stemming from being upset with missing time thanks to post-concussion syndrome.

We're not here to hypothesize on what caused these young men to reach that dark place where killing their body with toxins or taking their own life seemed like the right answer to the situation they were in. Doing that is a folly. Trying to figure out if the life of an NHL tough guy or a concussion victim leads to being consumed by the saddest of sad thoughts is too much for people not in the know to speculate on. While you could draw conclusions with a guy like Rypien, using the same methodology for a guy like Belak doesn't make sense. We just don't know what made these guys tick and that's part of the frustration in dealing with their untimely deaths.

What needs to be looked at is how the NHL and the NHLPA are trying to take care of their troubled souls. Former NHL tough guys Tyson Nash and Matthew Barnaby took to Twitter to point the finger at the NHLPA for not helping players prepare for their post-career lives. In Belak's case, this makes some sense although Belak wasn't lacking in opportunity post-hockey. Belak was set to be a rinkside reporter for Predators broadcasts and was also set to compete on CBC's Battle of the Blades celebrity figure skating competition.

The fact here remains that pro hockey players are guys that have been playing since childhood and have known a professional schedule lifestyle that consisted of virtually nothing but hockey. When it comes time to retire or if you're forced out of the game by injury, it's a colossal culture change for players which sometimes leaves guys feeling lost.

It's the sort of situation that makes you think of the character Brooks from the film "The Shawshank Redemption." After so many years on the inside of prison, when he was set free he became a lost soul unable to adapt to a new way of life on the outside. That's not to say that the hockey lifestyle is like a prison, just that when everything you've ever known is thrown into disarray, if you're not ready for it you can be left feeling swamped over.

Whether it comes from preparing players for their post-career lives, helping them with substance abuse, or getting them help when it feels like there's no way out of the darkness that's enveloping their lives being proactive to let the players know there's help when they need it is the absolute least they can do and it has to start early.

The NFL and NBA hold rookie symposiums for incoming players to help them better prepare for the perils of being a professional athlete. Having the NHLPA and NHL work together to let players know that there is a program in place to help (the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse & Behavioral Health Program) can get the word out early and let it be known that help is there if needed. Whether the problems stem from abusing alcohol or pain killers, the assistance is there.

With depression is one of the most personal and most private mental illnesses, teaching players early on what the signs of it are and that reaching out for help when it's needed. That's not nearly enough to help those who are depressed, but doing something is better than doing nothing. Depression is such a difficult thing because even with proper counseling and a great circle of friends, it still might not be enough to save someone from their thoughts. Ignoring it, however, is not an option.

With  so much sadness and so many questions left unanswered for those players and their families, the time is now for the NHL and NHLPA to work together and make sure that sadness and avoidable tragedy will not happen in the future. One death is one too many, four is a sign of a much larger problem that must be addressed.

[Barrister]

What do you guys think of this?

I think your article is full of fail.

former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien

[HVC]

former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien

No need to further shame his memory by mentioning he was relegated to playing for the jets.

[Barrister]

former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien

No need to further shame his memory by mentioning he was relegated to playing for the jets.

[crazy canuck]

What do you guys think of this?

I think your article is full of fail.

former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien

Screw you

[Barrister]

What do you guys think of this?

I think your article is full of fail.

former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien

Screw you

No U

[Ed Anger]

Sidney Crosby won't be starting the season just yet, and Marc Savard is out of commission for the entire season.

The NHL will have to acknowledge they have a problem, sooner than later.

Zedno Chara should just pulverize Matt Cooke on the ice for Marc Savard. Then Rick Nash should beat Cooke for Fedor Tyutin.

[crazy canuck]

What do you guys think of this?

I think your article is full of fail.

former Canucks tough guy Rick Rypien

Screw you

No U

He signed with Winnipeg just before his death.  He didnt play with them nor did he practice with them.  For all we know he might have been traded before the season started.  It is silly that you would make any issue out of people referring to him as a Canuck - you know the team he played for his whole professional career.

[Barrister]

He signed with Winnipeg just before his death.  He didnt play with them nor did he practice with them.  For all we know he might have been traded before the season started.  It is silly that you would make any issue out of people referring to him as a Canuck - you know the team he played for his whole professional career.

Well the silly part was Tim waltzing in with a story when these deaths have already been discussed in this thread - hence the bigger reason for my response.

But most media have reported him as 'Winnipeg Jet Rick Rypien'.  Heck I heard that phrase a couple times this morning on the Emonton radio (as they were discussing Belak's death).

[crazy canuck]

One more reason Edomonton is a backwater of humanity.  May be worse than Winnipeg itself.

[Barrister]

One more reason Edomonton is a backwater of humanity.  May be worse than Winnipeg itself.

Go back to rioting you hippy.

[jimmy olsen]

I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/03/simmons-on-nhl-fighting-let-the-players-decide

[sbr]

I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/03/simmons-on-nhl-fighting-let-the-players-decide

First off what do you need to see before you believe what?

Also it is another opinion piece.

[jimmy olsen]

The NHL getting rid of fighting.

[Neil]

So hockey players who fight are suffering from depression, and the solution is to fire them all?  Thanks, Tips.

I do feel bad for fighters in this day and age though.  They're not really a part of the game's law enforcement anymore, as hockey doesn't really have much in the way of law enforcement these days.  Maybe Shannahan will clean that up, but that won't help.  The instigator rule turned fighting from a useful and essential part of the game into a sideshow, and turned a tough, popular game into an unpopular game filled with cheapshot artists (such as everyone on the Canucks).