OTTAWA -- Pat LaFontaine, whose career was cut short by multiple concussions, is healthy now. But he can still vividly remember the bad days brought on by his head injuries.
"A bad day is you have no enthusiasm," LaFontaine said today in the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. "You have a migraine headache. You’re anxious. You don’t want to leave the house. You’re very emotional. You just can’t see the light. There’s no spark. There’s nothing, and you can’t find it. It’s a very confusing place. I wouldn’t be able to sit and have a conversation."
It's those recollections that have the Hockey and Buffalo Sabres Hall of Famer worried about the health of today's NHL players. Head injuries seem as commonplace as breakaways nowadays, and LaFontaine is concerned for players like Sidney Crosby, who has missed most of the past two seasons with concussions.
"I think everybody wants to come to a place where the players are protected, they can play a long career," LaFontaine. "Why should anybody in any great sport have to be concerned about their livelihood when they’re done?
"It’s a serious, almost epidemic these days. It’s not going away. The forces are there. You have to understand what’s giving is the head and the neck, and we need to continue to put in the proper rules, whatever it takes to protect the head and the neck in our game."
LaFontaine is hoping Crosby can return. He also knows the Pittsburgh superstar is in a tough place.
"I’m hopeful, but I also know science," LaFontaine said. "I also know what happens if you get multiple head injuries. When you’re at this point and it’s taken you not much of a hit to put you that far out, it’s very concerning. Very concerning."
LaFontaine is in Canada's capital to help open a playroom for sick kids in the Ottawa hospital, much like the Lion's Dens his Companions in Courage Foundation opened in Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Women's and Children's Hospital of Buffalo.
"At the end of the day, we’re up to almost impacting 45,000 to 50,000 kids a year around North America," LaFontaine said. "It never gets old when you open up a room like this for kids."
To hear the full interview with LaFontaine, click the audio file below. In the picture, LaFontaine (right) is having a video conference with a child in a Buffalo hospital. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (left) and Philadelphia's Sean Couturier (seated) also take part in the talk.
Join Mike Harrington and Bucky Gleason for this video look at what's gone wrong for the Sabres in the first half and what the team might do the rest of the way.
Tim Kennedy is on the move again. The South Buffalo native (left) who has hopscotched from Buffalo to New York and Florida in the last two years with some AHL spots in between, was traded again Thursday by the Florida Panthers to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Sean Sullivan.
Florida appeared to be a good landing spot for Kennedy because of his success in the Sabres organization in Portland under new Panthers coach Kevin Dineen. But Kennedy had just one goal and two points in 27 games and had gone back and forth three times between the Panthers and their San Antonio affiliate.
Kennedy now goes to Worcester, his fourth AHL stop. From 10 goals in 76 games with the Sabres in 2009-10 to a career as a vagabound, mostly in the AHL. All because his agent pressed the Sabres in arbitration. A big mistake, one that Kennedy's career has yet to recover from.
---Mike Harrington (www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
Photo: Kennedy on the ice with the Panthers in Buffalo in December/Mark Mulville-Buffalo News
The Sabres are taking off from practice today, the last day they're allowed to work out prior to the NHL all-star break. They return to the ice Monday at First Niagara Center and have their next game Tuesday in Montreal, where they might be able to add Tyler Ennis and Paul Gaustad back to their lineup.
---Maybe pigs do fly because the Sabres won a road game with Tuesday's shootout win at New Jersey. Guess that means no trades and no firings? Oy. Still no back-to-back wins though with the next chance coming in Montreal. The Sabres are 10-19-5 since their last winning streak and the 34 games currently stands as the third-longest drought in franchise history -- behind only 40+-game lulls in their first two seasons. Ugh.
---There's only one game today and it's Detroit at Montreal at 7:30 on NBC Sports Network. The Habs, Islanders and Sabres are all tied at 45 points. If Montreal loses tonight in regulation, it would drop to 14th place while the Islanders would improve to 12th and Buffalo to 13th. The Sabres would stay in 14th if Montreal gets a point.
---This week's edition of "NHL 36" is tonight at 6:30 and it features 36 hours in the life of Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. His first day was last Monday, when the Sabres were in Detroit, and the cameras rolled pregame and during the contest. Might be an interesting watch.
---NHL.com has Jason Pominville pegged as Mr. Irrelevant in the all-star fantasy draft, as in the last guy chosen. At least he would get a car for his troubles. I loved the draft last year. It was better than the game.
---Jerry Sullivan offers this take on Tim Thomas' snub of the Bruins' White House visit. Good post, good reasoning but I don't agree. My feeling is Thomas should have been a teammate and gone. A fun argument for sure on both sides.
---Speaking of the All-Star Game, James Neal will replace Alex Ovechkin in Ottawa. Caps owner Ted Leonsis obviously did not agree with the Great Eight's suspension, as he wrote the other day on his blog. Boo to that, Ted. He jumped and contacted the head. Almost automatic these days. To me, it was a test case to see if Brendan Shanahan would give a Shanaban to a name player. He passed.
NEWARK, N.J. – The woebegone Sabres can’t even get through a morning skate anymore without a troublesome incident.
Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller left the team’s warm-up today after taking a high, hard shot from teammate Marc-Andre Gragnani off the collarbone area. Right after the puck clanged the goalie, he got to his skates and headed directly to the dressing room area, stopping only briefly to angrily put his stick on the bench.
The agitated goalie spent time in the medical room with Tim Macre. The athletic trainer then met privately with coach Lindy Ruff.
Miller, while preparing to leave Prudential Center, gave a quick, “Yeah,’’ when asked if he was OK. He then walked to a back room.
“I think he’s OK,” said Ruff, whose team plays the Devils tonight in the final game before the All-Star break. “He took a shot. I didn’t see it, but I think he’s OK.”
The Sabres did get good injury news. Defenseman Robyn Regehr will return from a shoulder injury.
“I’m going to go out there and try to help us win a game,” said Regehr, who has missed four games. “It’s come around the last couple of days, and I was able to take some slap shots.’’
The Sabres opened a spot for Regehr by sending defenseman Joe Finley back to Rochester.
Christian Ehrhoff, who has been out since suffering a rib injury Dec. 30, has been cleared to play for the Sabres and will return Tuesday when Buffalo visits New Jersey.
In addition to helping on the ice, the defenseman wants to bring excitment off the ice, too.
"I'm happy to get back, and hopefully we can get out of this hole tomorrow and get a win," Ehrhoff said after practice in Northtown Center in Amherst. "Just bring some confidence and some fun. I think it's been a tough few weeks for the guys that have been playing, and I'll just try to come in and bring a little excitement and try to give them some confidence."
He is the only injured player who is set to return. Defenseman Robyn Regehr and left wing Tyler Ennis skated today but aren't ready. Forward Paul Gaustad did not skate, while forward Brad Boyes also missed the session with the flu.
Captain Jason Pominville, meanwhile, said the team remains committed to winning with Lindy Ruff as coach and Darcy Regier as the general manager. His interview, and Ruff's chat, are below.
