Boudrias helped the team's trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. For the 1979-80 season, the league finally made helmets mandatory for new players allowing those who signed professional contracts prior to June 1, 1979, the option not to wear them but it would be 18 years before every NHL player complied. The following season, Blair traded Boudrias, who had scored the second-most points for the team in its first season, citing a drop in his production. [5] He was a two-time NCAA All-American and was twice named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Star team, earning both awards in 1960 and 1961. After Masterton's death, the North Stars set up a scholarship fund in his name. "When he had headaches early on, we wouldn't have had him on the ice," he said. [15], Several awards were named in Masterton's memory. He was traded the following season to Chicago. When Mastertons head struck the ice at Met Center, there was no skull fracture, but his brain swelled very quickly, evidenced by his dilated pupils and elevated blood pressure which pointed to a previous head injury. The night before the Oakland game, Masterton's family gathered at the house of their neighbor, North Star goaltender Cesare Maniago, to celebrate Maniago's 29th birthday. [9] The Pioneers finished the season with a 30-1-1 record and were hailed as "the greatest hockey team to ever represent an American college or university. They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. Professional Hockey Player. His parents, brother, wife and two children were at his side. It's always in the back of my mind. "What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.". Or Richard Zednik who came close after his neck was cut by a skate and he lost a lot of blood. The question flashed up on the big screen: What if Ian didnt believe in sacrifice?. That's what men did. [11], Masterton suffered a severe internal brain injury during the first period of Minnesota's January 13, 1968, game against the Oakland Seals at the Met Center. Still, he returned to play following lost teeth, hundreds of stitches and even the discovery of a spot on his brain visible on a CAT scan. That was the NHL's code. Awareness about brain injuries and how to treat them has come a long way since then. "We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.". 1/2 Minnesota North Stars F Bill Masterton was tragically lost on this day in 1968, 2 days after having struck his head on Met Center ice. During the North Stars' first game (Oct. 11, 1967 in St. Louis), Masterton scored the team's first goal and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. And in Masterton's case, it probably cost him his life. Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. Since Masterton was off balance at the time he got checked (cleanly; there was no penalty called), his brain twisted inside of his skull before his head struck the ice. What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.. Realizing he was already gone, Masterton's parents, who had flown in from Winnipeg after they heard of the incident, and his wife, Carol, made the decision to remove Masterton from life support. Ken Lindgren, a fan watching the play about 10 rows up in the stands just above the blue line, can still visualize the impact. He didn't see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. He had been checked hard into the glass -- less yielding in those days -- two weeks earlier in a game against the Boston Bruins. Throughout his college career, right through to his training camp in Memphis, Masterton wore a helmet, a rarity in an age when head protection was dismissed by players and management alike. And in Mastertons case, it probably cost him his life. "[Masterton] probably had some earlier swelling going on, so if he got a second injury, it would be catastrophic.". You have come to the ESPN Africa edition, for other ESPN editions, click above. said Boudrias, now 72. When Masterton's head struck the ice at Met Center, there was no skull fracture, but his brain swelled very quickly, evidenced by his dilated pupils and elevated blood pressure -- which pointed to a previous head injury. But that has not happened fast enough for a group of more than 120 ex-NHL players, including Bernie Nicholls, Mike Peluso and Steve Payne, who are suing the league in a class-action suit for putting their neurological health at risk despite knowing the violent play involved. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. At 1:55 a.m. on Jan. 15, 1968 -- almost 30 hours after he struck his head on the ice -- Bill Masterton died at the age of 29. Its also the mindset that will shorten their lives and destroy their bodies. It got deathly quiet.". [23], A later analysis by the Toronto Star in 2011 suggested that the "macho" attitude of the NHL in that era, as well as Masterton's aggressive playing style, played a significant role in his death. "I wouldn't do it.". Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. The underlying cause of his death almost 50 years ago elevates awareness about the risks of undiagnosed concussions -- and the NHL's responsibility to address them. Carol referred to the incident as a fluke, saying that it could have happened to anyone. That's what men did. You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head? said Boudrias, now 72. Masterton was not a marquee player, but he was a skilled playmaker who was willing to work in the corners and be a team player. The hit was considered clean but the back of Masterton's head hit the ice hard and he died after being rushed to the hospital. The usual story is just as has unfolded here, that they can even talk a bit after that final hit and then they lapse into a coma, Tator said. With a blown knee and broken bones, Scott stepped away from his sport. You were a yellow belly if you wore a helmet.. That honour followed the franchise when it relocated south to become the Dallas Stars. They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. Murray Williamson, who coached both amateur teams Masterton played for, remembered a night in Rochester, Minnesota, when Masterton backed into a radiator in the dressing room and singed his rear end. That's what men did. Masterton is credited with the scoring the first goal by a Minnesota franchise in the NHL. When Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. We didn't think it was that serious.". He said prior to the start of the 196768 season that being able to play in Minnesota was key as he would have been unlikely to consider an offer with any other team. The NHL's 1967 expansion offered an opportunity to play for the newly founded North Stars, for whom he scored the first goal in the franchise's history. At 1:55 a.m. on Jan. 15, 1968 almost 30 hours after he struck his head on the ice Bill Masterton died at the age of 29. "We watched his head bounce," Lindgren said. I looked at him and said, What are you going to do? because he was just starting a young family, said Bob. He briefly played in the Montreal Canadiens organization before settling in Minnesota where he played senior hockey. The idea that you persevere goes back to time immemorial. Despite several efforts to mandate their use, it was 11 years before the NHL made them compulsory for all new players beginning in the 197980 season. He starred at the University of Denver from 1957-61, helping the Pioneers win three national collegiate titles and earning tournament MVP honours his senior year. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. While knowledge of concussions has increased dramatically since Masterton died, the warrior-like mindset of professional hockey players is everlasting, he said. "I knew he was done.". "I knew he was done.". He didnt move after that. Three years later, only six Minnesota players wore them, the most of any of the NHL's teams. The night before the fatal game against Oakland, Masterton was at Maniagos house with his family Scott was 3 and Sally, 1 helping the genial goaltender celebrate his 29th birthday with teammates. On that fatal night at Met Center on Jan. 13, 1968, the Minnesota North Stars center, playing against the Oakland Seals, carried the puck across the blue line and cut to the right while Seals defensemen Larry Cahan and Ron Harris closed in. The NHL's expansion from six to 12 teams in 1967-68 rekindled his mothballed dream. The specter of Masterton's death hung over the NHL All-Star Game, which was played in Toronto the next day, Jan. 16, 1968. Hed never show when he got hurt. Latest News As dramatic music replaced a play-by-play call of the incident, the video moved backwards in slow motion until just before Laperrieres face absorbed the slapshot. You hold out four fingers. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. The Hennepin County medical examiner found evidence of a previous injury on the left side of Mastertons skull on the temporal region of the brain. We didn't think it was that serious.". — -- Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.. All rules new players now must wear helmets", "Alumni of Distinction Inductees - Bill Masterton Class of 1955", "Division I 50th anniversary hockey team announced", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Masterton&oldid=1139666631, NCAA Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player, Biographical information and career statistics from, This page was last edited on 16 February 2023, at 07:49. I wouldnt do it.. If the guy only sees two, you send him back out there because it doesn't matter anyway. The season started with promise: Masterton scored the first goal in North Stars history. To order [16] The Minnesota North Stars pulled his jersey number 19 out of circulation following his death and formally retired it in 1987. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Masterton's teammate, Boudrias. He didn't see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. Bill Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968. He was the first on-ice casualty in NHL history. I knew he was done.. So has NHL protocol, initiated in 2011, which has spotters to flag potentially concussed players and bans those from returning to games in which they were injured. Discuss the NHL, AHL, PHF, IIHF, KHL, and every other hockey league you can think of! The team doctor soon joined him. [16], Few NHL players wore helmets in 1968. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? In a quiet moment, Masterton made a rare admission to Maniago: He was struggling with the effects of a head check into the glass during a recent game. Like most players of his era, he was not wearing a helmet. In several games prior to the tragedy, Blair had also noticed something strange. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. Ron Harris was haunted for many years by his role in Masterton's death: "It bothers you the rest of your life. My interpretation is that the seeds of this catastrophic injury were sown days before.. When the brain hasn't healed completely from a previous injury, a subsequent blow can cause the type of sudden and severe swelling found in Masterton's brain. Its kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the What if? The Hennepin County medical examiner found evidence of a previous injury on the left side of Masterton's skull on the temporal region of the brain. He had been complaining of headaches, said Maniago. [11] He finished as the runner up to Doug Robinson for the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's top rookie. Played senior hockey returning to action too soon saying that it could have happened to anyone you have come the! 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