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The Weekender: Insurance

Posted on by Dan Bradley

The NHL has a history of concealing injuries. That’s not news.

A recent study published by Boston University suggests that head injuries, not concussions, lead to CTE.

“The concussion is really irrelevant for triggering CTE,” Dr. Lee Goldstein, an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and College of Engineering, and a corresponding author of the study, told The Post. “It’s really the hit that counts.”

It’s a must read. (LINK)

The study, led by Boston University researchers and published Thursday in Brain, a peer-reviewed journal of neurology, analyzed the brains of teenagers with head injuries and used mice to recreate head trauma, revealing more about the origins of CTE and its relationship to traumatic brain injuries (TBI), concussions and subconcussive head injuries.

Go ahead, try to make sense of this. The Blackhawks cap situation isn’t great to begin with, and now they’re without their best player of the 2017-18 season.

Corey Crawford’s injury was described as “symptoms of vertigo” days after Jonathan Toews gives us this quote:

Asked what his reaction was when he learned Crawford was injured, Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said: “We’re always concerned about our teammates first, and then our team second. Crow knows he’s trying to get better. He’s one of those guys that we know we can rely upon as a person, as a teammate. …

”He’ll do what he can to get himself better, so he can get back to playing and get back and help our team.”

Crawford has missed time with symptoms of vertigo back in 2016 before the playoffs.

A few hockey players, specifically goalies, have had some recent bouts with vertigo. Jonas Hiller dealt with Vertigo back in 2011. Jeff Hackett’s NHL playing career was shortened by vertigo. Bryan Bickell gave some detail on his symptoms he experienced during the playoffs in 2015.

In case you’re a bit more curious on vertigo symptoms, and you should be, here’s a quick read. Vertigo has a few different causes.

The most common causes of vertigo are inner ear infections or diseases of the ear such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, and Meniere’s disease.

BPPV can occur when calcium builds up in canals of the inner ear, causing brief dizziness that lasts from 20 seconds to one minute. It is usually brought on by trauma to the head or by moving the head in certain positions.

One line of that piece did stick out:

Less common causes of vertigo can include head or brain injuries or migraines.

The Nashville Predators have yet to play a game at full strength.

While the injury bug has taken away Ryan Ellis for a half of a season and now Filip Forsberg for the month of January, the team still looks good on the ice. In all honesty, that’s very welcome compared to the Trotz era. I love Barry Trotz, but if the older fans are honest, the old teams fell apart when “that one player” got injured, or “that one call” went against Nashville. The Preds are 5-1-1 without Forsberg during this stretch.

The Trotz era and the Laviolette era differ in many areas, but the slim margin of error where the Preds lived for many years under Barry Trotz started to wear thin as early as 2012. Plenty of it has to do with the talent on the roster, but Laviolette has shown to be better with younger players. Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson are fine examples of giving the player the right chance as opposed to throwing the young, undersized forward on the third or fourth line with a face-off specialist and a face-puncher.

Filip Forsberg could be a star under most coaches. Kevin Fiala could be, given the right chances. Viktor Arvidsson needed the right opportunity. That’s coaching and managing working together.

Let’s start with the positive: at least the Ducks aren’t lying to us about how great of a hockey player he is.

And let’s also credit the Ducks for giving him clothes this time.

If a professional hockey team is cool with promoting their $6.75 million center who is signed until he’s 38 as a talented jerk, you just applaud them for truth in advertising.

It’s time now for another good idea, bad idea.

Good idea:

That trade isn’t perfect; I would much rather see Dougherty, Carrier, or basically any other defenseman prospect traded before Fabbro, but for two years of Max Pacioretty… I’d consider it.

Bad idea:

Who is the best front man of all time?

A. Freddie Mercury

B. Freddie Mercury

C. Freddie Mercury

D. All the above.

roadside_fury

Mercury is the correct answer. The question was who was the best “frontman”, so that includes the entire performance (vocals, theatrics) as well as leadership. Mick Jagger would get my heart’s vote, but the brain goes with Freddie.

After Juuse Saros’ recent hot streak (3 shutouts in his last 5 NHL starts), how many of the remaining regular season games does he deserve to start? Personally, I’m not quite to a 50/50 split, but I see no reason not to ride the hot hand.

Gnash4President

I’d be comfortable with Juuse playing a third of the remaining games. Pekka is the number one until he’s not, and there’s no reason to create a goalie controversy until it’s warranted. Case in point: St. Louis. The Blues misused Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott, and now Jake Allen. Pick your #1 goalie, and learn to play in front of him. The defense plays different in front of Saros compared to Rinne, and I worry that a complete 50/50 split would mess with the team’s strategy.

VGK

Much like their unprecedented rise in the Western Conference standings, VGK has seen an unprecedented rise on my personal poop-list. Between their initially-funny-but-now-just-obnoxious Twitter account, their thievery of The Real Deal in the expansion draft, their style of play, and, if I’m being honest, their success, I find my level of disdain for VGK to be approaching Blues territory (about 8.5/10), though not to Ducks levels (10/10). Do you feel the same? Why or why not?

Gnash4President

I didn’t mind them until that hit on Johansen. Then I made myself take a deeper look.

You know that one guy work rolls up to the bar/restaurant late, probably wearing an all-white or all-black MLB hat, and stares everyone down as he is escorted to his table? He’s something to prove guy. He doesn’t like you. He thinks that you don’t like him. He can’t wait for someone to say something to him. He may be talking to the person at his table, but he wants you to hear it. He scratches his arm to subtly show off his tattoo that you don’t have and he thinks you want. He’s probably pantomiming punches and elbows when the UFC commercial comes on.

That’s Vegas. It’s a team full of guys that are very motivated to rain down sulfur on the rest of the league, and a team that knows that this year may be the best shot they have together as a unit.

They aren’t the Ducks, and thankfully they won’t have enough time to become the Ducks. But hey… if they want to lose to Pekka Rinne and the Preds three times in the playoffs during a seven year period, that’s cool too. I doubt they’ll have enough time to accomplish that.

How much money should I put on the Pats?

ppeterson614

  1. Never bet on the NFL.
  2. The Jags are getting 8.5 points when I last checked, and the Pats are a -115 on the moneyline (you have to bet $115 to win $100). Both of those numbers are trending in the direction of Jacksonville. If you haven’t already bet on the Patriots, save your money until the last minute.
  3. Never bet on the NFL.

Best top 6 we’ve ever had been w twos D pair combos and two goalies

Or best lineup overall in general

ajs3677

Honestly? It’s this one. The 2005-06 and 2006-07 teams saw Darcy Hordichuk play the majority of the regular season. The goaltending is more proven this year, and the depth down the middle is superb.

i often make my own skin/hair care products, and recently have been under fire from friends who discovered this. should i be concerned with my own sexuality as they imply? or should i just enjoy how fabulous my hair and skin are? also, my beautiful girlfriend melts like butter after a full body exfoliation….so screw them

Cascapedia

No, not at all. You’re making things. The feeling of accomplishment when you make or mend something is something that can get you through a day. Skin care is important to longevity, and has indirect benefits across our life in many directions.

With the NHL’s organizational push for more goals

do you think we will see a return of rules baring players from putting their bodies down on the ice to block shots?

Dennis.K.Morgan

Absolutely not. Tyler Seguin’s goal against the Bruins is a prime example of why the decision to block a shot is an imperfect one.

Midseason Pred with the most Hart

At the regular season midpoint, who is the Nashville Predator’s most valuable player (biggest Hart)?

I’m Thinking Arvy’s

Filip Forsberg. I know his injury will exclude him from a clean sweep of the vote, but he’s the best offensive player Nashville has. And his season has been strong until his injury. We’re at the points where he’s no longer the newest sensation, but he’s still the best.

In all seriousness, I hope the Jaguars keep it close. They aren’t scared of a rock fight.

  • One of the many traits this Predators team has is a collection of forwards that are all trustworthy on both ends of the ice. For as much love this team has earned for it’s offense, there’s plenty of individual talent on the defensive end of the ice. Once the playoffs begin, that characteristic will show even more.
  • If the Senators are interested in trading Mike Hoffman, I’d be interested. Pacioretty is more enticing, but Hoffman would a very good piece. If the goal is to get more out of Johansen, you go for Pacioretty. If you’re aiming to get more out of Turris, you go for Hoffman. Pacioretty will likely cost more to acquire, and will come with more “noise”. Either way, Pontus Aberg should be on notice.
  • They won’t be trading Eeli Tolvanen.
  • The Sharks looks to be a good team, but when you look closer at their production you’ll notice that Joe Pavelski is on pace to have his worst season since 2007-08. His assists are still there, but the Sharks do count on him to be the top-end goal scorer. The Sharks’ contract list looks like a re-tooling could be on the horizon. Pavelski and Logan Couture are both entering the 2018-19 season on the last year of their deal, Joe Thornton’s contract ends after this year, and Thomas Hertl will be due a raise this summer. The Sharks could kick the can down the road another year, but a little pro-activeness would do them some good.
  • The NHL has Kid Rock playing their All-Star Game. The NBA has N.E.R.D. playing theirs. The NBA wins again. If N.E.R.D. just plays a few tracks off of In Search Of I’ll be happy.
  • Happy Birthday to one of the great guys in Nashville, Pete Weber. /

On to the next one.

-Dan

Talking Points