Marc Savard was good but...

[Supercooled]

.. he's no Sidney Crosby. I'm speaking in past tense because in all likelihood he will never return for any extended period of time. Nevertheless, I think these two will be kins. I didn't even know Crosby has been sidelined again. The brain once bruised will not be the same ever again. It was sad when Kariya announced he would take a year off to recover, then another year and ultimately when he decided to retire. Now this. It's funny because growing up I watched guys like Greg Millen, Kelly Hrudey, Craig Simpson, et al play and they're all commentators now but the most polarizing thing about this is these guys would be shrimps compared to players today in size. The physicality in today's game rivals that of football. Damn, it's going to be a sad day when Crosby calls it quits before he's even 25.

This sucks.

[Cas77]

.. he's no Sidney Crosby. I'm speaking in past tense because in all likelihood he will never return for any extended period of time. Nevertheless, I think these two will be kins. I didn't even know Crosby has been sidelined again. The brain once bruised will not be the same ever again. It was sad when Kariya announced he would take a year off to recover, then another year and ultimately when he decided to retire. Now this. It's funny because growing up I watched guys like Greg Millen, Kelly Hrudey, Craig Simpson, et al play and they're all commentators now but the most polarizing thing about this is these guys would be shrimps compared to players today in size. The physicality in today's game rivals that of football. Damn, it's going to be a sad day when Crosby calls it quits before he's even 25.

This sucks.

Not sure why the comparison or why they would be shrimps? 2 of these guys were goalies (Ryan Miller and Tukka Rask are < 170lbs). Craig Simpson is 6' tall and played at ~ 200 lbs. Crosby and Savard are both shorter and their playing weight is about the same.

The only difference is the old guys wouldn't be able to drive nails in a piece of wood with their hard plastic elbow/shoulder pads.

[Supercooled]

I was trying to draw parallels between two players who are no doubt very important to their respective teams. Both skilled and not particularly very physically imposing although right now it seems about the only player that is immune to head shot is Chara unless he was on his knees. Whether it's Crosby or Savard or whoever, to allow hitting in the game is to allow headshots because of the invariables. Will we be discussing the wasted potential of Crosby in 10 years because his injury keeps him from playing consistently? Savard's career is all but done but as anyone who watches hockey knows the physical aspect will always be the defining selling point of the game and no amount tweaking will change that.

[Kris81]

A healthy Marc Savard I always compared to Adam Oates. Two great passes who were never really that popular among the casual fans. You didn't realize their greatness until you looked at them closely & their numbers to reveal just how special they were.

[BornRuff]

Not sure why the comparison or why they would be shrimps? 2 of these guys were goalies (Ryan Miller and Tukka Rask are < 170lbs). Craig Simpson is 6' tall and played at ~ 200 lbs. Crosby and Savard are both shorter and their playing weight is about the same.

The only difference is the old guys wouldn't be able to drive nails in a piece of wood with their hard plastic elbow/shoulder pads.

...which are both no longer part of the NHL. The hard plastic elbow pads were eliminated almost 9 years ago.

[BornRuff]

.. he's no Sidney Crosby. I'm speaking in past tense because in all likelihood he will never return for any extended period of time. Nevertheless, I think these two will be kins. I didn't even know Crosby has been sidelined again. The brain once bruised will not be the same ever again. It was sad when Kariya announced he would take a year off to recover, then another year and ultimately when he decided to retire. Now this. It's funny because growing up I watched guys like Greg Millen, Kelly Hrudey, Craig Simpson, et al play and they're all commentators now but the most polarizing thing about this is these guys would be shrimps compared to players today in size. The physicality in today's game rivals that of football. Damn, it's going to be a sad day when Crosby calls it quits before he's even 25.

This sucks.

Lets be realistic, Crosby is 24 right now and there is no way in hell he is going to retire before the end of next season. The guy has 16.5 million reasons not to.

At his age and with his skill, he has many years to attempt comebacks. As we saw recently, he is more than capable of playing as well or better than he has in the past.

[Supercooled]

Lets be realistic, Crosby is 24 right now and there is no way in hell he is going to retire before the end of next season. The guy has 16.5 million reasons not to.

At his age and with his skill, he has many years to attempt comebacks. As we saw recently, he is more than capable of playing as well or better than he has in the past.

I was being hyperbolic but it's entirely possible if he takes another similar hit like he did with Steckel, he can be sidelined for another season or more. 24 or 37 (Pronger), the brain is a fragile organ and it isn't as healthy as it once was with Crosby. Damn if I know why, but it just seems the stars are aligning and concussions are getting diagnosed left, right and centre. I never questioned Crosby's determination or motivation to play; if it was money, I'm sure he could just sit out and take in the insurance like Savard is forced to do. In the latter case, his family is probably making him think long and hard before he attempts another come back because he may be risking not only another concussion but a permanent fixture of drool running down his cheek if he does. I'm glad Kariya and Lindross were smart enough to quit while ahead; I just hope the Savards et al are as well.

If it means we have less concussions and less injuries to institute some drastic rule changes regarding hitting, I'm all for it. Let's say, hypothetically, you can only engage a player, i.e inside the two blue lines and beyond that, you can only poke check or grab which may slow down the game I'm all for it. I just don't like seeing a player get his clock cleaned like Savard did with Cooke or Lindross with Stevens. I'm sick of proponents that say "keep your head up when you're making a play" without realizing how fast the game is at the professional level. These guys who throw checks make sure they send a message when they lay the hits like that. It's fine and all to say it's not their intent to injure but come on, you don't throw a body check and not expect there's going to be pain inflicted. We can keep the game safe but entertaining as well.

[BornRuff]

I was being hyperbolic but it's entirely possible if he takes another similar hit like he did with Steckel, he can be sidelined for another season or more. 24 or 37 (Pronger), the brain is a fragile organ and it isn't as healthy as it once was with Crosby. Damn if I know why, but it just seems the stars are aligning and concussions are getting diagnosed left, right and centre. I never questioned Crosby's determination or motivation to play; if it was money, I'm sure he could just sit out and take in the insurance like Savard is forced to do. In the latter case, his family is probably making him think long and hard before he attempts another come back because he may be risking not only another concussion but a permanent fixture of drool running down his cheek if he does. I'm glad Kariya and Lindross were smart enough to quit while ahead; I just hope the Savards et al are as well.

If it means we have less concussions and less injuries to institute some drastic rule changes regarding hitting, I'm all for it. Let's say, hypothetically, you can only engage a player, i.e inside the two blue lines and beyond that, you can only poke check or grab which may slow down the game I'm all for it. I just don't like seeing a player get his clock cleaned like Savard did with Cooke or Lindross with Stevens. I'm sick of proponents that say "keep your head up when you're making a play" without realizing how fast the game is at the professional level. These guys who throw checks make sure they send a message when they lay the hits like that. It's fine and all to say it's not their intent to injure but come on, you don't throw a body check and not expect there's going to be pain inflicted. We can keep the game safe but entertaining as well.

The change in the rate of diagnosis is most likely related to the fact that they are doing a lot lot more these days to diagnose concussions. A culture that used to push players to just be tough and play through anything has now done a complete 180 and is now extremely sensitive to anything related to the head.