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This is not the aspect of the debate one may expect. Simply it is to calm some complaints from writers and NHL execs alike. Let’s make one thing crystal clear. Bryce Salvador has had well documented inner ear issues. There, we did say it. Yes we went there. Traveling back into the history of the internet, there were a few things that we discovered.
Here is the first case all the way back in early 2001. Thanks to a site called Puck Junky for this one:
From a defensive standpoint, the loss of MacInnis and Pronger has meant a lot more playing time for the likes of Bryce Salvador, Jeff Finley and Todd Reirden. Newly acquired Dan Trebil will be expected to assert their leadership while Alex Khavanov and Vlad Chebaturkin are gaining valuable experience filling time until the twin towers return. Bryce Salvador left the Jan. 30 game against Boston with blurred vision and motion sickness. Hopefully he will not miss much action as this would leave yet another hole on the injury-riddled St. Louis blueline.
This is a bit disheartening as his “concussion” history goes back nine years. Though all it takes is one hit to cause long term head trauma, there is a baseline for the pattern. Salvador would return after a couple weeks and did battle what they termed then “an inner ear infection”.
Now more recently Salavdor took a bit of a beating before the James van Riemsdyk hit in question. Thanks to Tom Gulitti’s Fire and Ice Blog for this:
Salvador was hit by Philadelphia’s James van Riemsdyk in the first period of Tuesday’s preseason game at Prudential Center and left briefly before returning and taking another hit from Scott Hartnell. But Lamoriello said the concussion may have also been caused over multiple games. Salvador was on the receiving end of several punches in a fight with the Rangers’ Kris Newbury on Saturday.
Seeing the games in question, Kris Newbury really did pummel Salvador pretty hard. Several punches did strike Salvador in the head, one even caused his head to snap back unusually similar to what you would see a stiff uppercut do during a boxing fight. While I do not claim to be an expert on concussions and head trauma, I have experience it first hand. Its not fun. There are times where I have frequent “sinus headaches” that can last for days or even weeks. Some I can work through and some I cannot. The sinus and inner ear buildup is enough to drive most anyone insane.
There is no question that Bryce Salvador is suffering with this. It definitely must be killing him that he cannot be on the ice for opening night at the very minimum. The priority is for hopefully the symptoms to subside so that he is 100% cleared to play. That could take days, weeks, or months even. No one is very sure right now. This is why there are so many tests done now. Imagine what it was like 10 or even 20 years ago. It was a much more frightening process.
Then there are the undocumented concussions (approximately 5 or 6 that Bryce knows of) that Bryce Salvador has received. I had been fortunate enough to meet Salvador several times over the past year or so and one does notice things. Everything seems normal but you notice a little tick here or there and begin to wonder a bit. My brother who also played hockey with me, has the same kind of “ticks” if you will from a concussion he suffered two decades ago. That should tell people something as far as concussions. No one knows when the symptoms will go away or come back, there is just hope that it stays away.
The immediate thing that struck me was that Salvador would get a bit agitated when he could not remember something. Maybe I picked up on it a couple times because I had seen it before. However, there were a few fairly simple questions that he could answer. He would remember it a bit later but my brother and even I tend to do the same thing. We will have that “glassed” look at times.
Admittedly I do get angry when people say this or that is not a legitimate injury. Post concussion syndrome is not fun for anyone to go through. It obviously affects family, friends, loved ones, and even fans of hockey teams, media too. Hopefully, Bryce Salvador gets well soon but with his age (34) and history, there are definitely concerns. Do people think the LTIR is really a cop out now, especially for players who suffered from PCS like Marc Savard and now Bryce Salvador? I think not.
