With star players like Sidney Crosby & Chris Pronger losing large stretches of time to concussions over the past two seasons, the issue has become front and center in the NHL. However, back in Eric Lindros’ day that wasn’t the case. He was one of the few players whose bouts with concussion symptoms was public.
“I feel pretty lucky based on my [history] and a bunch of guys going through some tough times,” Lindros said at the Alumni Game press conference. “I feel quite lucky and very healthy.”
Former Ranger Paul Broten, who will play for the Rangers in the alumni game, said that just because they weren’t as publicized back then, doesn’t mean they didn’t exist.
“People always ask me that question and this is a bad way to answer it, but 50 years ago you never heard about child abuse or anything else and now you hear it all the time. You never heard about concussions or fetal alcohol syndrome, you never heard anything,” Broten said. “Now everything’s coming up and people are studying it, really looking into it. If it causes long-term damage, they’ve got to look at it.”
The Winter Classic Alumni Game takes place today at 3pm and can be seen on Versus.