As much as we can focus on the comments made by Greg Pateryn on Andrew Shaw, there is a much more important angle the Montreal Canadiens need to focus on.
It was a scary moment for the Montreal Canadiens and Andrew Shaw. Seeing a player unconscious requiring the help of the training staff to get off the ice is never something that sits well with anyone.
We can talk about the fact that A. Shaw initiated the hit and that it was the contact with Greg Pateryn‘s helmet that knocked him out. We can dive into Pateryn laying two punches on him before realizing the severity of what was going on. Even the comments that both Pateryn and Claude Julien made after the game could be the epicentre of this discussion. However, there are much more important things to focus on.
It’s safe to say that A. Shaw suffered a concussion as a result of the collision, and it’s far from being his first one. The 26-year-old has a history of concussions and was greatly impacted by the symptoms of one over the offseason that took him a while to recover from.
A. Shaw first sustained the injury after a head-on collision with Brady Skeji in Game One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The additional bumps from an intense series with the New York Rangers, including hits from Brendan Smith in Game Two and Dan Girardi probably made it worse, so much so that he was forced to sit out of Game Six. Not to mention that A. Shaw got into a fight with Smtih in Game Five that may have riled up the team, but did nothing good for him.
In an interview with Sportsnet‘s Eric Engels, he revealed the extent of some of his symptoms saying:
"“I wasn’t sleeping right. My emotions were all out of whack; I’d be happy, angry, sad, irritated, anxiety — stuff I’d never experienced before… I was in my room in my house for a month in the dark with depression issues, being sad and miserable. My anxiety was through the roof."
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A. Shaw also mentioned that there were times where he would wake up in the middle of the night puking and worried if there was something really wrong with him. Now the Habs are in a situation where he has most likely suffered his second in less than a calendar year. Granted there hasn’t been a confirmation of what it is, but it didn’t look good.
No one is saying that A. Shaw should retire from hockey, but he should take the time to rest. There are 12 games left in the season for the Montreal Canadiens, sit them out. The most important thing that A. Shaw said on his situation was something we all need to take into account:
"Yes it’s hockey, but you have a life outside of hockey. You’ve got family and friends. I plan on having kids and I want to be able to spend time with my kids and enjoy their life and have them enjoy mine. If you push yourself through it over and over again, you’re going to have difficulties later in life."
Players still have lives after their days in the NHL are finished, and taking care of yourself in those trying times of their careers should take precedence over everything. We’ll have to see how the Habs choose to handle A. Shaw. Julien said after the game that he wasn’t sent to the hospital, but was being monitored very closely. Shutting A. Shaw down absolutely has to be the way to go, even if it doesn’t end up being a concussion.
What are your thoughts on A. Shaw’s injury? Should the Habs shut him down? Let us know in the comments below.