Playing through the pain is not the way to win
Hockey players are widely recognized for their toughness. Their willingness to play through an injury is unlike anything you’d see in any of the other four major sports. Legends are born through a player’s ability to tolerate extraordinary amounts of pain. There is seemingly no limit to the pain an NHL player will put himself through for the Stanley Cup.
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Bob Baun provided one of hockey’s finest examples of playing through an injury during the 1964 Stanley Cup Final. He had to be carried off on a stretcher after blocking a Gordie Howe shot with 10 minutes remaining. Baun refused to go to the hospital, opting instead to take painkillers and returned to the game, which went overtime. He would score the winning goal to force Game 7 and he wouldn’t miss a shift of that game either.
Steve Yzerman provided a more recent example, in 2002. He played in all of Detroit’s 23 playoff games on a badly damaged right knee that required reconstructive surgery after the playoffs. Despite barely being able to skate, Yzerman turned in a heroic performance, led the Red Wings with 23 points and won his third Stanley Cup.
There are stories every year that turn to lore with time.
But is that always the best thing for a player? Sure, you can’t be anything other than impressed and inspired by a player sacrificing his well-being, but that courage does have unintended, selfish consequences at times, doesn’t it?
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Playing hurt is fine, but playing at a point where an athlete can no longer perform at the top of his game can hurt the team. It would be a much better idea to rest for a game than to try and soldier on. This works in two ways.
First, it gives the player more time to rest his injury. An extra few days without any strain can do wonders. It may be a gamble, but missing one game to come out even better in the next few is a risk that could turn out much better in the long run.
Second, it allows a fresher, healthier teammate to come back and help the team. Sure, that player probably wasn’t originally playing for a reason, but late in the playoffs when there isn’t a single guy who isn’t beat up or tired, a fresh set of legs could be a major advantage. Besides, the NHL playoffs is the time of year when unknowns step up and play major roles and that player could be waiting in the wings for his chance.
Ilya Kovalchuk is a prime example of this. The Devils’ top offensive catalyst has been battling what is believed to be a back injury and was highly ineffective in Game 1 against the Flyers in their conference semifinal series. He did record an assist, but had no shots, was a minus-two and coughed the puck up regularly. Instead of gritting his teeth and continuing to play in Game 2 he sat out, enabling the Devils to dress defenseman Adam Larsson for his first game of the playoffs.
The rookie was healthy and had fresh legs and though he only played 13:15, Larsson had the jump Kovalchuk didn’t in Game 1 and scored the game-tying goal early in the third period to get the Devils’ offense going. Kovalchuk took the time to rest and returned for Game 3 where he recorded three points including a go-ahead goal in the first period and assisting on Alexei Ponikarovsky’s overtime winner. He would total two goals and six points total in the final three games of the series.
Larsson is a plus-three, averaging 16:25 per game and has given the Devils a fresh body on the blue line, but that wouldn’t have happened if Kovalchuk didn’t take the night off.
And then there’s after the season and after their careers to think about. Keith Primeau, former member of the Philadelphia Flyers, said “My wife always says she thinks I’d give my life for the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.”
It turns out, he nearly did. Six years after his retirement he still feels the effects of his concussions.
Primeau suffered a number of concussions late in his career in pursuit of the Stanley Cup and is still affected by them to this day. He has a much different point of view now that he is retired. When he was asked if playing through a concussion and risking one’s future was worth taking a shot at the Stanley Cup, he simply replied “No, it’s not.”
Of course an active player isn’t going to be thinking of future consequences as the silver chalice gets closer and closer, and Primeau understands this.
“It’s hypocritical of me because there was a point in time I felt it was (worth the risk),” said Primeau in an interview with Coincidental Minors. “But trust me, going through what I’ve had to deal with over the course of the last six years since my last concussion, what all individuals need to understand is that the game is only a certain part of your life. You have the rest of your life to live and you want to live it as healthy and in the best way possible.”
Obviously, a concussion is different and far more severe from any other injury. As badly as a knee may be banged up, surgery these days can fix these and similar ailments and alleviate the pain. But the concept is the same. Athletes need to be aware their actions have an impact on their families and lives outside of the game as well.
It’s difficult to say you wouldn’t want your best players to be out there when they are needed most. You simply have to love and appreciate anybody that would put their team’s success before their individual well being. But while many will tell you sitting out is worse than the injury, losing is the worst feeling of all. And to avoid losing, a team needs every player to play at their best.
Sometimes that requires the player to not play at all.
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