The Boogaard lawsuit against the NHL
Panel: Bruce Dowbiggin / Paul Echlin
Stick dropped. Fists raised. Knuckles bare. That's the way many fans remember Derek Boogaard -- the powerful National Hockey League enforcer. Mr. Boogaard was found dead of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol two years ago.
His family members have now filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the NHL. They allege the league is responsible for brain damage Derek Boogaard sustained during on-ice fights as well as his addiction to painkillers.
Opponents knew to respect the strength of the "Boogeyman." But the New York Ranger was more than just a powerhouse.
"If I had to describe Derek Boogaard in one word, I would say: He's a kid. He was a kid that grew up and got everything he ever really dreamed of and just didn't really quite understand what that really meant." - John Branch, sports reporter for NY Times
John Branch is a sports reporter for the New York Times. Following Derek Boogaard's death, he wrote an intimate profile of the hockey player and the toll his life as an enforcer took on him emotionally and physically.
Derek Boogaard's parents are now taking on the NHL.
"The lawsuit really says: If you take a young man, and have him fight night after night ... subject him to trauma ... he's going to have pain. If you then give him enormous amounts of pills to treat that pain, and then promise his family that you're going to take care of the resulting addiction and fail to do so, you need to be accountable and responsible to that family for his loss. " - Boogaard's Family lawyer, William Gibbs.
We invited NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on the show. He declined, but offered this statement:
"We are not aware of any Complaint having been filed and have not received service of one. As with any litigation, we will handle it in the ordinary course and will have no comment."
With more on what the possible consequences of this lawsuit for the NHL -- and for the game of hockey -- we were joined by two guests.
Bruce Dowbiggin is a sports journalist and author of The Meaning of Puck: How Hockey Explains Modern Canada. His new book Best Practices about the Vancouver Canucks comes out this fall. We reached him in Calgary.
And Paul Echlin is a primary care doctor and sports medicine specialist who's conducted research into hockey concussions. He works at the Elliott Sports Medicine Clinic in Burlington, Ontario, where we reached him.
This segment was produced by The Current's Idella Sturino, Vanessa Greco and Virginia Smart.
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