Paul Kariya Says He Still Can't Remember Anything From 3 Days After The Scott Stevens Hit
One of the best things about this hockey season is that it seems like we’re going to be getting a lot more Paul Kariya. And by “a lot more”, I mean we’ll at least see and hear from him once or twice as opposed to the zero times we’ve seen him since he retired. He’ll be getting inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year alongside Teemu Selanne. And then there’s this interview he did with TSN that’ll be coming out this week. And yeah, definitely doesn’t look like this is going to be the easiest watch.
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I love a huge hit just as much as the next guy. But thank god the league has finally gotten hits like this out of the game. I can’t exactly blame Scott Stevens for being the piece of shit that he was. Because when he was playing, this type of hit was just hockey. You cut across the middle of the ice admiring your pass, you’re going to get your head taken off. And to be fair, you should still never cut across the middle of the ice admiring your pass. But you also shouldn’t have to get hit so hard that you completely lose 3 days from your memory because of it. The rules were set up to basically allow murder on the ice, and Scott Stevens was the best murderer there was. Is he still a fucking asshole for making a career out of ruining others? Yes. He’d be the dirtiest player by a thousand miles if he were still playing today. But he played within the rules of his time so I guess it’s a “don’t hate the player, hate the game” type of scenario.
Anyway, the fact that Paul Kariya not only survived this hit but then came back to score in that same period is one of the greatest achievements in NHL history. There’s never been a more hockey tough moment than that. There’s the shot of Kariya lying there on the ice. All you see is this lifeless body and then he comes to and you see his visor fog up. At that moment you’re just thinking to yourself okay thank god he’s not dead. Obviously he should have never been allowed to get back on the ice after that. But the world was a different place 14 years ago. So he comes back that same period, flies down the left side of the ice since the right side is a “no-no zone”, and rips one past Marty. “OFF THE FLOOR, ON THE BOARD”.
A damn shame the game has messed with his brain so much. I think you could see why he really hasn’t wanted anything to do with hockey since retirement after seeing that hit. But on the bright side, I guess, at least it gave us that moment.