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• There are a number of NHL players who have had their careers cut short.
• NHL careers may end because of repeated injury or assaults by other hockey players.
• There are many NHL players through hockey history who have had great careers end for a variety of reasons.

1. Steve Moore

Steve Moore had his NHL career cut short due to a hit from Todd Bertuzzi which was extremely brutal. The premeditated attack was so vicious that Moore suffered from a concussion, his neck was broken, and he also had numerous other injuries as well. Steve Moore never did play again, although he did recover from his injuries. Todd Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season as a punishment for the assault. The attack was so brutal that the Vancouver police investigated whether to bring criminal charges or not, but none were ever filed.

2. Paul Kariya

Paul Kariya was severely injured on February 1, 1998 when he made a score during a game between the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks. Gary Suter, a player for Chicago, cross checked Kariya viciously up the side of his head in an unwarranted brutal attack. Kariya was supposed to play in the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games and represent Canada in the hockey rink, but this did not happen. Because of the assault by Suter, Kariya never made it to the Olympic games, and he had post concussion syndrome which caused him to miss the rest of the season as well. Kariya did come back, but his performance and skills have never been the same and his career is no longer bright like it was before the attack.

3. “Ace” Bailey

In 1933, “Ace” Bailey was injured severely and had his hockey career ended, even though he would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame and his injury would start the All Star Game tradition. The game was between the Toronto Leafs and the Boston Bruins. Bruins defense Eddie Shore, who was known for being one of the roughest and meanest players in hockey, brutally hit Bailey from the back, sending him slamming into the ice with an audible skull fracture that made spectators wince. The result was a severe skull fracture, and Bailey never played hockey again. The following year a benefit was held to honor him, and this game has become the modern All Star Game today.

4. Robert Gordon Orr, a.k.a Bobby

Robert Gordon Orr, better known as Bobby, was known as one of the best to ever play in the NHL, but his career was cut short because of injuries and repeated knee surgeries. Retired in 1978 after more than twelve knee surgeries, he was thirty one years old. Orr was such an asset to the NHL that when he retired the mandatory three year waiting period for induction in the Hall of Fame was waived, and Orr was brought into the Hall of Fame the same year that he retired from the NHL. Bobby Orr was the winner of the Norris trophy for eight consecutive years, setting a record, and he also managed to win four of the major NHL awards in a single season, being the only player to do so.

5. Donald Brashear

In February of 2000, during a game with the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks, Donald Brashear was slashed viciously on the side of his head by Marty McSorley. Once the stick slashed him, Brashear fell down and slammed his head against the ice on the rink. The result was a severe concussion for Brashear, a criminal trial for McSorley on the charge of assault with a weapon, and a stipulation that McSorley could never play against Brashear again. The stipulation was not necessary, because Brashear never played hockey again. He had no recall of the assault or falling, but his coordination never recovered enough from the injuries to allow him to play professionally again.

6. Adam Deadmarsh

Adam Deadmarsh had an amazing NHL career still ahead when post concussion syndrome ended it all in 2005. With a Stanley Cup win in 1996, and chosen as a member of two Olympic hockey teams, Deadmarsh was destined for even greater things until his medical problems forced him to quit hockey. The first concussion occurred during a fight with Ed Jovavovski.

7. Pat LaFontaine

Pat LaFontaine was one of the best in the NHL, until all of it ended with a concussion and post concussion syndrome that ended his career as a hockey player. The final career blow came in 1998, right after he played in the Olympics, when LaFontaine was in an accidental collision with Mike Keane and suffered another concussion which took him out of hockey for good.