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Lanny McDonald worried about concussions

By Greg Harder, The Leader-Post February 3, 2011

Lanny McDonald marvels at how much the game has changed since his Hall of Fame hockey career ended in 1989.

The trouble is, not all of those changes have been for the better.

"There's a couple things I think about and kind of worry about," McDonald said Wednesday from Calgary. "Obviously everyone is talking about the concussion challenges. The players today are bigger, faster, stronger, in phenomenal shape, moreso than they were 15, 20 years ago. With the speed of the game and the size of the players and how quickly those gaps close out there, they need to take a long hard look at the equipment, even if they take a step backwards (with more padding).

"Now, just a glancing blow with the new, lighter, harder-than-a-table-top equipment, you'll end up with a concussion. That's a big worry. And the respect factor and what we are demonstrating and trying to get across to our young people because they emulate everything that happens in the pros."

That's why McDonald thinks education on concussions needs to start at the top.

"The NHL has a responsibility to push it down to junior hockey, down to midget hockey and all the way down," he continued. "When you start losing the best players in the game, like a Marc Savard, like a (Patrice) Bergeron, like Sidney Crosby, for extended periods of time, holy God, get your head out of the sand, wake up. It is a tough game and they're trying to address it but it seems like they waited too long.

"They have to move faster or the punishment has to be greater so those liberties can't be taken. I don't care who it is, whether you have kids of your own or family around you, this is not only a game, this is a life that you're dealing with."

McDonald should know. The 57-year-old estimates that he suffered at least six or seven concussions during his 16-year NHL career.

"Back then they just gave you smelling salts and said, 'Are you feeling all right? Can you get back out there?' " he recalled. "You didn't realize that there was more of a problem. I remember playing shifts or even an entire period where you just played on instinct and then all of a sudden you start to come around. It's like, 'Holy god, I missed the whole second period,' yet you played. Thank God you didn't get hurt worse than you did."

McDonald also feels fortunate that he hasn't suffered any long-term effects.

"What's your name again?" he jokingly asked the interviewer. "Yeah, very much so. Especially now, we have four kids, we just celebrated the birth of our third grandchild. I want to be able to hang out and play with them forever. So, yeah, I do feel lucky."

Not only that, McDonald also has great memories from playing in one of the NHL's most-celebrated eras.

"I think if you talk to any person, they always believe their era of the game was the best," added McDonald, who recorded 500 goals and 1,006 points in 1,111 regular-season games. "I truly do believe our era through the '70s and the '80s was more than I could have ever asked for. I loved every second of going to the rink whether it was for practice or the games.

"To be fortunate enough to win the Stanley Cup (with the Calgary Flames) in your last year was pretty damn cool. What a great way to go out! When you think of the game back then and the great rivalries like Montreal-Toronto, like Calgary and Edmonton, oh my gosh, it was so good. There were bragging rights on the line. You wanted to be in the city that hopefully gets the last laugh."

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."