Concussion lawsuit against NHL is noble fight

This was a big hockey week in Las Vegas, even if it was too hot to drive a Zamboni lacking air conditioning.

The NHL awards banquet was here, and Lord Stanley’s Cup was here, and a lot of people were talking about expanding to Las Vegas, and probably to Seattle, too — and a lot of people were talking about the awesomeness of Carey Price, the Montreal Canadiens’ goalie, and how he’s going to have to build an addition onto his trophy room back in whatever frozen tundra province he’s from.

Not a lot of people were talking about the concussion lawsuit that has been brought against the NHL by around 80 of its former players, though.

It’ll probably be way more than 80 by the time it’s settled out of court.

I tried to reach out to Butch Goring, the former coach of the International Hockey League’s Las Vegas Thunder, whose name is among the most recognizable on the suit — probably because he won four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders, and the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship, and the Conn Smythe Trophy for being most valuable in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance.

And maybe a little bit because he wore the same crappy hockey helmet since he was 12.

But I was told that Butch’s lawyers said he’s not talking about the lawsuit now — he still works as an analyst for the Islanders, and it’s sort of a delicate situation.

Dan LaCouture, on the other hand, had a lot to say about it.

LaCouture never won the Conn Smythe, or any of those other trophies. When his career was halted by head injuries, he invested in a couple of Midas muffler shops, and that’s what pays some of the bills.

He was driving down the road after playing in one of those celebrity golf tournaments when we spoke. Guys who spent their careers on the checking line usually don’t receive a big appearance fee.

LaCouture had more fights (52) than goals (20) during his 348-game NHL career. But he wasn’t an enforcer. He was just a hard-nosed player who dug the puck out of the corners and would protect a teammate, if necessary.

On Jan. 5, 2004, the New York Rangers, the third of six NHL teams for which LaCouture skated, were playing the Calgary Flames. LaCouture said he was sticking up for teammate Jed Ortmeyer when he dropped the gloves to fight Robyn Regehr.

He lost his helmet, fell backward and cracked his head on the ice.

He said he probably suffered a dozen or more concussions during his career, five or six of which were documented. The one after he fought Regehr at Madison Square Garden started his downward spiral.

It ultimately would cost him his career and his marriage. It would affect other personal relationships, too, because a symptom of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is shortness with one’s loved ones.

“My father was constantly asking, ‘Why do you snap so quickly?’ I’d say, ‘Sorry, dad, I don’t mean to be that way,’ ’’ LaCouture said.

CTE takes a heavy toll. Sometimes you have to wear dark glasses indoors, because even the light hurts.

One often turns to personal remedies when all else fails.

“Alcohol and Ambien every night before I go to bed,” LaCouture said. “It’s been a struggle for me.”

He said it took a double shift of perseverance to get off the sedatives. He didn’t mention the alcohol. He takes Zoloft now. He said it has helped with his depression.

LaCouture’s beef with the NHL is that he believes it knows there is a correlation between hockey and head trauma, and that the league has kept this information from the players.

Had he been aware of it, LaCouture probably would not have returned to digging pucks out of corners so quickly. He said guys who play on checking lines don’t have the luxury of sitting out long, or they’ll send for a replacement from the American Hockey League.

That culture needs to change, LaCouture said as he drove down the road.

Perhaps the NHL needs to take another look at fighting, too.

In every other sport except boxing, fighting will get you thrown out of the game and probably suspended. Even in mixed martial arts, a sport once described as “human cock fighting,” the combatants are required to wear gloves.

If the NHL, you’re supposed to drop them. Then five minutes later, all is forgiven. I wish my parents had been so lenient after I fought with my brother.

Hockey purists claim fighting is a necessary part of the game, but then how do you explain Chicago and Tampa Bay playing a thrilling Stanley Cup Finals in which there were zero fights, and only four minor penalties called on average?

Even renowned brawlers such as Mike Milbury are speaking out against fighting.

“I’ve been TKO’d before and missed games because I’ve been dizzy, lost in space, tired,” Milbury told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I just can’t imagine that being somebody’s condition for most of the days of the rest of their lives.”

Guys such as Dan LaCouture never imagined that, either.

He said he still thinks hockey is a great game, but that there needs to be a conversation as there was in the NFL recently — and then there was a settlement, and now football players who have had their bell rung repeatedly can be compensated up to $5 million.

Just thinking outside the blue lines, here’s another idea:

The NHL could take a portion of that $500 million expansion fee it’s soon going to be receiving from people representing Las Vegas — and a portion of another $500 million it’s going to be receiving from people representing Seattle — and set a little something aside for guys such as Dan LaCouture, just in case the muffler business goes belly-up.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.