Whenever you think of concussions in association with the NHL, there are a couple of names that always come to mind – one of them being Marc Savard.
Savard was one of the most prolific talents in the NHL and with concussion after concussion; he was eventually forced out of the league by injury. He went from three of four seasons in the top ten in the NHL, to two straight seasons missing significant time and then never playing an NHL game again.
Now, in a deeply honest article in the Players Tribune, he spoke about his concussion experiences in hopes of helping anybody else going through anything similar.
He starts things off by explaining the moment that he knew his career was over.
“I was coming down the wing at full speed. Matt Hunwick leaned in and hit me clean. Unfortunately, he caught me just right, and my head whiplashed off the glass. Back then, Colorado’s glass was seamless. It was notoriously unforgiving.
I immediately dropped to my knees. I had my eyes wide open, and I couldn’t see anything. Everything was black. I shut my eyes, and then opened them again. All black…
My teammates escorted me to the dressing room, and I had a tough couple of minutes in there. I was sobbing. I remember my coach, Claude Julien, coming in and trying to console me. But I couldn’t be consoled. I knew I had just played my last game in the NHL.”
He then goes on to explain the hit that is most well-known in the hockey community. It was a graphic moment after Matt Cooke came across the ice, blindsided Savard and left him unconscious on the ice. For this part of the story, he doesn’t have much to say, because in his words, he “[has] no memory of the actual event”.
He does remember how he felt afterward though and it’s pretty brutal.
“Well, imagine waking up and still feeling completely exhausted. Imagine that feeling lingering for almost two months. No matter how much you rest, you never feel like yourself. There’s no relief. You’re just exhausted and pissed off and confused.
For two months, I was a zombie.”
He goes on to tell the tale of the long road to recovery he had even without playing hockey and some of the more difficult moments he experienced, from depression to just wondering if he would ever feel normal again.
Savard admits it is a difficult topic and part of his life to open up about, but he has done so in hopes that he’ll help anybody in a similar position.
