It's quite possible that Mike Richards' suspected concussion cost Terry Murray his job as coach of the Los Angeles Kings. The team hasn't won a game since Richards took a hit to the chin from the Florida Panthers' Sean Bergenheim on Dec. 1.
A Chris Pronger concussion is threatening to derail the Philadelphia Flyers' season, and Hart Trophy contender Claude Giroux also recently suffered a blow to the head.
"Concussion? I don't know," Holmgren said when I asked what we were calling his injury before it was diagnosed. "I wouldn't go that far just yet. Sometimes they come forward after a certain period of time. He actually has more issues with his neck."
That may be the case, but now the Flyers are labeling Giroux's head injury as a concussion, too.
And of course there's Sidney Crosby, who's at the forefront of this issue again. He's out indefinitely after concussion symptoms returned this weekend during light exertion. Crosby passed the concussion diagnosis test but said his body is off. He's listening to his body.
Concussion recovery is now a daily way of life in the NHL and is again having an impact on the standings. It's good that players are taking symptoms seriously. It's not good when the best players in the game aren't playing.
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- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
Follow Craig on Twitter: @CraigCustance
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