Sheldon Souray empties his heart on his time in Edmonton

Brantt Myhres is a former NHL pugilist who has his own podcast where he invites former players to discuss substance abuse issues and heartbreaking stories during their careers.

Two weeks ago, Myhres’ guest on the Unhammered podcast was Carey Price, who opened up about his two years of sobriety.

In this week’s edition, Myhres welcomed former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray.

I warn you, the stories told are quite upsetting and shocked me, but the interview itself is excellent.

Already, you have to understand that Souray had an extensive injury history when it came time to test the free agent market in 2007, following his six seasons with Montreal.

Before arriving in Edmonton, he had already suffered several concussions and undergone four or five shoulder surgeries. He wasn’t sure himself.

In his third season in Edmonton, 2009-2010, Souray missed the first half of the season with a concussion.

Jarome Iginla accidentally clipped Souray’s skate, causing him to fall heavily against the boards.

Upon his return, Edmonton faced the Calgary Flames, and thus, Jarome Iginla.

Souray felt no remorse towards the former Flames star, but Tom Renney, who was co-coaching with Pat Quinn at the time, forced Souray to go toe-to-toe with Iginla.

The score was all Flames in the third period, and what had to happen, happened.

Souray fought Iginla and fractured his hand.

But that’s not the worst of it.

Souray wanted to go to Los Angeles, a week before the Olympic break, to have surgery on his hand, because he didn’t want to stay in Edmonton – he really didn’t like the Edmonton organization, to put it politely.

The club refused Souray’s request, wanting to keep him around since it wasn’t a complex operation.

Souray then asked for a trade.

Complications from the operation followed, including one time, before returning to Edmonton to check on the healing, when two metal bars were sticking out of his hand and he could simply put them back in place, painlessly.

Every time he moved his hand, it came out.

He finally started to feel very weak on the surgical side, only to learn at the hospital that there was a major infection in his bones and blood.

According to the doctor, there was no concern about his hand, but rather about the possibility of the infection spreading to his heart…

Amputation of the hand was a possible solution.

At the time, Souray was in fairly critical condition, but the Oilers organization believed he was faking his injury because he no longer wanted to play in Edmonton.

I can’t believe it…

Souray was quite weakened by the drugs he was given, and when he learned that the Oilers didn’t believe him, he took the opportunity to sh** the coaches and the owner, one by one.

I probably would have done the same.

Later in the interview, Souray talked about his addiction to painkillers.

He and Myhres were talking about how quickly they kick in. He’d start with two or three pills per “shot”, then work his way up to 4-5, then 7-10, then 12-15… He says he’s gotten up to nearly 200 pain pills a day with a good handful each time.

It’s so upsetting, but an interesting interview.

I invite you to listen to it in its entirety, if you have a little time to spare. It’s well worth it, and there are even more anecdotes to be told.

Overtime

– James Van Riemsdyk, Daniel Sprong and Tyler Johnson are the three most interesting forwards still available on the market. [HockeyFeed]

– Waiting to sign Evan Bouchard is ideal for the Oilers.

Record-breaking defenseman Evan Bouchard had an unreal season and post-season for the Edmonton Oilers, but with elements like McDavid and Draisaitl’s future deals at play, the Oilers may be wise to show patience with Bouchard: https://t.co/UQTJrgp4NX

– The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) July 7, 2024