The Anaheim Ducks, The NHL, Nick Boynton and Head Injuries

This is the conclusion of our two-part series in reaction to former Anaheim Ducks player Nick Boynton’s recent criticism of the league, and it’s position of the effects of head injuries. Today Greg Johnson looks at the Ducks position on the issue and what they can do going forward.

Last week we looked at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s role in the head injury crisis in the league. In the final part of a two-part series in reaction to former Anaheim Ducks player Nick Boynton’s recent flaming of the league, we’ll look at the Anaheim Ducks, their reaction to head injuries, and their potential benevolence.

Some have speculated that Nick Boynton was taking a shot at the Anaheim Ducks in his Players’ Tribune article a few weeks ago. In it, he mentioned a particularly bitter disappointment. “I got my courage up…and found a way to tell some people with the team I was playing for that I had a problem… Everyone I talked to was so understanding. Every single person said they were there for me, and that they wanted to get me the help I needed.”

Then the hammer dropped: “…less than a month after I’d gone to my team and asked for help, I got traded away to another city… So I took the hint, you know what I mean? From that point on, no matter how bad it got, I kept my damn mouth shut about any problems I was having off the ice. I asked for help, and I got shipped out. Lesson…learned.”

Off the Hook

Although Boynton did play for the Ducks for two seasons, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in February 2010. That was well before the end of the season. The team in question is either the Boston Bruins, who traded him in June 2006, or the Phoenix Coyotes, who traded him in June 2008. The Ducks are free from Boynton’s written ire…for now.