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Bill Daly makes a fool of himself by talking about old-fashioned blows to the head
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot
Yesterday, we learned of the death of Chris Simon, a former NHL strongman. He was only 52 years old and sadly took his own life.

You know as well as I do that former NHL enforcers taking their own lives happens all too often. The after-effects of having to fight often on the brain are enormous.

It’s something we all know.

But just because we know it doesn’t mean everyone’s willing to admit it. For example? Bill Daly, Gary Bettman’s right-hand man, refused to say this morning that science is advanced enough to link blows to the head and chronic traumatic encephalopathy in players.

Basically, Daly refused to say that memory loss and neurodegenerative diseases in players are linked to head injuries during a player’s career.

I think the science is still inaccurate. – Bill Daly

Meanwhile, Gary Bettman agreed that it was too early to conclude anything on the Chris Simon issue.

He also said, after offering his condolences to the family, that we know how hard the NHL works to make the game as safe as possible for players.

Obviously, you’ll understand that both men’s outbursts are calculatedly disconnected. They prefer (no doubt for legal reasons) to say what they’ve said rather than the other way around.

And that’s even if it makes Bill Daly look like a[insert insult of your choice] at the moment.

Dan Carcillo, a former NHLer who wasn’t known for scoring tons of goals, notably chose to throw Daly and Bettman under the bus. And he’s not the only one. The same goes for Allan Walsh, the player agent.

The two men haven’t helped the NHL restore its reputation when it comes to injuries, in any case.


In gusts

– To be continued.

– The resale of tickets for the women’s hockey match at the Bell Centre is intense.[La Presse]

– Notice to interested parties.

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