Some of biggest stars out significant time Capitals forward Jay Beagle wondered for weeks why his own team continued to keep him off the ice even though he felt fine.
A fight during an Oct. 13 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins left Beagle with a wicked headache for a few days. But it would be over two months before he would return to a game on Dec. 28. The 26-year-old, who entered training camp in fantastic shape and believed he was ready to challenge for an NHL roster spot and consistent playing time, had entered the maddening world of concussion recovery.
It is an issue that threatens to overshadow the 2011-12 NHL season as one player after another goes down with a head injury. Penguins star center Sidney Crosby, who missed 10 months after a pair of concussions last winter, returned to play eight games earlier this season and is again out indefinitely after symptoms returned last month.
“I wouldn’t wish it upon my enemies,” Beagle said.
His concussion came during a fight with Penguins forward Arron Asham on Oct. 13. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Beagle can take care of himself on the ice. But Asham is one of the most experienced fighters in the NHL. At the time he’d been in 83 career fights while Beagle had fought just seven times as a professional. No surprise that two right-hand punches from Asham briefly knocked Beagle unconscious.
Long after the headaches subsided, Beagle felt well enough to return to practice. But Washington trainer Greg Smith and team physician Dr. Ben Shaffer thought otherwise. Beagle’s eyes still weren’t moving quickly enough during tests. He also realized that his eyes hurt when looking at the lights on a police car while driving at night. Extreme sensitivity to light and noise help doctors and medical staffs judge if a player has recovered from a concussion.
The issue is nothing new for the Caps. Defenseman Mike Green missed 26 of the final 28 games during the regular season last year after taking successive blows to the head. His experience shows that concussions can lurk anywhere on an ice rink. First, he took a slap shot to the side of the head in a Feb. 6 game against the Penguins. On Feb. ?25 — his second attempt to return from the injury — Green was drilled in the jaw by New York Rangers forward Derek Stepan. He didn’t play again until the Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 13.
Just last week, star center Nicklas Backstrom was elbowed in the head by Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque, who was later suspended for five games. Backstrom missed one day of practice, insisted he felt fine after returning to the ice last Thursday and Friday, but apparently suffered a setback. He will miss his fifth consecutive game Sunday when Washington hosts the Carolina Hurricanes and hasn’t stepped on the ice in nine days. The team hasn’t labeled it a concussion. But a precise diagnosis doesn’t always matter.
“I think you guys look for an exact science to this, like an actual announcement, and I don’t think there are those,” said Philadelphia Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, whose best defenseman, Chris Pronger, a former Norris Trophy winner, will miss the rest of the season thanks to post-concussion symptoms. “I think that these things are evaluated and determined.”
Crosby and Pronger are just two of dozens of NHL players who have missed significant time with concussions over the past two seasons. Fights — like the one involving Beagle and Asham — contribute to some. But the speed of the game takes a serious toll, too. Players are bigger, faster and stronger than they’ve ever been. They train more than NHL players did even 15 years ago. Their nutrition across the board is healthier. It all adds up to more danger for current players.
“You got your bell rung, right? You just wanted to suck it up and keep going,” veteran winger Mike Knuble said about the prevailing attitude in the NHL when he entered in 1997. “The way they identify [concussions] now and the respect it has amongst the athletic community — it’s not considering you a soft player or that you’re not willing to play through things. The stuff that’s happened to guys [lately] has been very humbling and it’s something you really have to pay attention to.”
