When Bobby Orr says something gives you horse racing advice, there’s no good reason to take it. But when Bobby Orr speaks out about hockey, it is time to listen and respect what he has to say.
Recently, Orr remarked on the game he played until injuries prevented him from doing so. Here’s what he had to say.
“I think the center line, with the size of our players and the speed of our players, we’re shooting the puck from the goal line to the other blue line,” Orr told TSN, the Canadian ESPN. “Guys are going through the middle looking back for passes. I think our game has become more dangerous.”
Wait. But didn’t Bobby Orr play in an era where guys didn’t wear helmets and the Bruins didn’t even play in a full-sized rink? Not sure if Gerry Cheevers’ mask would fly in 2016. In fact, it definitely wouldn’t.
Say what you will about the lack of safety when Orr played the game, but maybe there really is a problem if a guy who played hockey without any sort of protection on his head thinks there’s a problem.
It was a knee injury that ended Orr’s career, so it makes sense why he would speak out on such an issue.
Even modern Bruins fans know the game can be dangerous. After all, it was a concussion that derailed Marc Savard’s career. And believe it or not, he is still under contract with the New Jersey Devils. But he hasn’t played in a game since that injury and he definitely never will.
But yeah, that injury was bad.
Recently, Bruins prospect, Jake DeBrusk had a really bad injury, but he overcame it. The moral is: hockey is dangerous, especially with guys wearing blades on their feet. That’s not safe at all.