Kariya Retires And HHOF Inductees

PAUL KARIYA RETIRES

Paul Kariya announced his retirement today, which was necessitated by way too many concussions. In his announcement, Kariya had some harsh words for the NHL, whom he believes has not been serious about stopping the type of head shots that shortened his career. In one of the most famous events, Scott Stevens absolutely leveled him in game 6 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, and Kariya was out for the count with a concussion, but came back to score the game-winning goal. The irony is, both Kariya and Stevens had their careers cut short by concussions. Dangerous hits have been a favorite topic of old-timers like Don Cherry and Mickey Redmond, who both believe, like Kariya that those hits are killing the game.

HHOF INDUCTEES

Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuendyk, Ed Belfour, and Mark Howe. A golden quartet that are the 2011 inductees into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Gilmour was the main man in Toronto during the Leaf revival of the mid-90's, while Nieuendyk is one of the few players to win Stanley Cups with three teams (Calgary, Dallas, and New Jersey). Belfour won his cup as a teammate of Nieuendyk in Dallas, and Howe was a brilliant defenseman, mostly with Philadelphia (he has won four Cups as a Red Wings' scout). Howe's dad must have been the happiest man in North America when he heard the news. (You may have heard of him-his name is Gordie, he played some hockey in his time-j/k) Congrats to all.