Through all the heroism, skill, and celebrity-status of modern day NHLers, it's hard to remember that they're human. They play through a grueling schedule of games, take unimaginable physical beatings, and have to remain professional in front of media and fans. Sometimes it's easy to just view these individuals as robot-like creatures, having no other purpose but to go onto stage to perform a show for you almost every night. But sometimes we receive harsh reminders that they go through the same struggles and emotional battles that we do.
Last season, when Martin St. Louis' mother passed away in the middle of the playoffs, we saw a New York Rangers team turn a sad situation into a rallying cry and St. Louis himself tallied 7 points in 9 games after her passing to lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final.
But that isn't human. Most people don't go straight from the funeral of a parent into the heat of battle in the NHL playoffs.
As hockey fans, we were spoiled. I understand that the majority of players tend to try to get right back on the ice after the loss of a loved one. But as we found out this year, for Martin St. Louis to strive under such strenuous circumstances must have taken some of that super-human capabilities we referred to earlier.
As Boston Bruins forward Simon Gagne noted earlier this month, "To play in the NHL, you have to be 100% mentally, emotionally, and physically committed to the game." Gagne's father passed away on January 12th. "At this time, I know that I cannot be close to those levels."
Gagne, after making the Bruins roster during training camp, had to take a leave of absence by the beginning of December because of his father's diagnosis of an incurable liver cancer. His father, unfortunately, passed away about 2 weeks later on December 26th. Then, on January 12th, Gagne decided that he would not be returning to the NHL this season. The Bruins respected his wishes and changed his status to that of a suspended player. His 1 year deal with Boston will expire at the end of the season. He amassed 4 points in the 23 games he played in this year.
It was a sad story, especially since Gagne had worked so hard to make it back to the NHL after a year off, dealing with injuries. He was just starting to get his groove back in Boston when he had to go back home to Quebec to be with family.
The hockey world was given sad news on January 7th when Minnesota North Stars legend Jean-Paul Parise passed away after his battle with lung cancer. J.P. Parise played 15 seasons of NHL hockey, 8 of them in the State of Hockey. He has 594 career points and 706 penalty minutes in 890 games. He was a lovable player during his career and was very passionate on the ice. He also almost sliced a referee's head off once.
He's also the father of current NHL star Zach Parise.
Parise is one of the league's best leaders and hardest workers. When his father decided to discontinue his chemotherapy and had his health begin to deteriorate, Parise was very stressed. He was hard on his performance as the Minnesota Wild continued to plunge further into their losing streak. He said he had to be a lot better on the ice, even though he was leading the team, at the time, with 30 points in 32 games. But he was just trying to put his focus anywhere other than the battle that was ensuing back home.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life," said Zach Parise, while his father's health continued to worsen. "You try and find that separation, you try to come here and be around the guys and not think about it."
But Zach's connection with his dad went further and the nature of their relationship now adds another challenge for Parise.
"The hard part about it is you try to go to the rink and forget about stuff but the hard part is...this was kind of our thing. Hockey was our thing. Him coming to every game or watching every game and talking to him after every game and talking hockey. That's not there anymore."
Since J.P.'s death Zach has gone scoreless in 3 of the past 4 games
This wasn't the first death that a member of the Minnesota Wild had to deal with this season. In early September, Bob Suter, father of defenceman Ryan, passed away at the age of 57.
Suter was actually skating on the ice before training camp when his wife came and informed him that his Dad suddenly died at their home in Madison, Wisconsin. Bob, a member of the 1980 US Miracle on Ice team, will be remembered by many as the great player and teammate he was. Over 4,000 people showed up to the wake to pay their respects.
Last season, when Martin St. Louis' mother passed away in the middle of the playoffs, we saw a New York Rangers team turn a sad situation into a rallying cry and St. Louis himself tallied 7 points in 9 games after her passing to lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final.
But that isn't human. Most people don't go straight from the funeral of a parent into the heat of battle in the NHL playoffs.
As hockey fans, we were spoiled. I understand that the majority of players tend to try to get right back on the ice after the loss of a loved one. But as we found out this year, for Martin St. Louis to strive under such strenuous circumstances must have taken some of that super-human capabilities we referred to earlier.
As Boston Bruins forward Simon Gagne noted earlier this month, "To play in the NHL, you have to be 100% mentally, emotionally, and physically committed to the game." Gagne's father passed away on January 12th. "At this time, I know that I cannot be close to those levels."
Gagne, after making the Bruins roster during training camp, had to take a leave of absence by the beginning of December because of his father's diagnosis of an incurable liver cancer. His father, unfortunately, passed away about 2 weeks later on December 26th. Then, on January 12th, Gagne decided that he would not be returning to the NHL this season. The Bruins respected his wishes and changed his status to that of a suspended player. His 1 year deal with Boston will expire at the end of the season. He amassed 4 points in the 23 games he played in this year.
It was a sad story, especially since Gagne had worked so hard to make it back to the NHL after a year off, dealing with injuries. He was just starting to get his groove back in Boston when he had to go back home to Quebec to be with family.
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He's also the father of current NHL star Zach Parise.
Parise is one of the league's best leaders and hardest workers. When his father decided to discontinue his chemotherapy and had his health begin to deteriorate, Parise was very stressed. He was hard on his performance as the Minnesota Wild continued to plunge further into their losing streak. He said he had to be a lot better on the ice, even though he was leading the team, at the time, with 30 points in 32 games. But he was just trying to put his focus anywhere other than the battle that was ensuing back home.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life," said Zach Parise, while his father's health continued to worsen. "You try and find that separation, you try to come here and be around the guys and not think about it."
But Zach's connection with his dad went further and the nature of their relationship now adds another challenge for Parise.
"The hard part about it is you try to go to the rink and forget about stuff but the hard part is...this was kind of our thing. Hockey was our thing. Him coming to every game or watching every game and talking to him after every game and talking hockey. That's not there anymore."
Since J.P.'s death Zach has gone scoreless in 3 of the past 4 games
This wasn't the first death that a member of the Minnesota Wild had to deal with this season. In early September, Bob Suter, father of defenceman Ryan, passed away at the age of 57.
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| Ryan Suter and Zach Parise |
As for Ryan Suter, he was now faced with the most difficult challenge in his career. With his 10th NHL season less than a month away, Suter had to leave his grieving family and friends and rejoin his team for the preseason.
Suter appeared in just 2 preseason games, playing a total of 52:49 and taking only 2 shots on net.
But he answered the bell at the start of the regular season, netting 2 points in Minnesota's opening night win against Colorado.
Suter's done well, scoring 1 goal but with 22 assists and his efforts have been rewarded with an All-Star game appearance coming later this month. He also leads the league in time on ice per game, something he's done the past two seasons. "You get to get out on the ice and you don't really have to think about anything," Suter said going into training camp. "You can just go out and be in your own little world."
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When hockey players do things based on family, it usually receives mixed reactions. As a New Jersey Devils fan, I wasn't sure what to make of former-Devil Zach Parise's decision to sign with Minnesota to play close to home. He didn't go for the money and he didn't really go for the quality of the team. His motivation was something completely non-hockey related and I wasn't sure what to make of that. Many were upset at him but I wasn't sure if I was able to be angry at someone making a logical choice.
Hell, I would have done the same thing.
When Ryan Suter and Zach Parise both decided to go to the Twin City that Summer (Zach from New Jersey and Ryan from Nashville), it received some bizarre responses. People wanted to hate these players for leaving their new homes for their old homes but it's almost inhuman to feel that way. Their decisions to relocate go beyond hockey and it, unfortunately, has to take the death of a loved one for the public to realise the importance family has on these players.
The bottom line is that, whether you like it or not, these players are human, just like you and me, and when they experience these losses, we're reminded all too quickly that we're not too different.
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