Clint Malarchuk

Clint Malarchuk
Born	(1961-05-01) May 1, 1961 Grande Prairie, AB, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Played for	Quebec Nordiques Washington Capitals Buffalo Sabres
NHL draft	74th overall, 1981 Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1981–1996

Clint Malarchuk (born May 1, 1961, in Grande Prairie, Alberta) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1981 and 1992, and the current goaltending coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Aside from his career, he is known for sustaining a life-threatening injury during a game when another player's skate blade slashed his jugular vein.

Playing career

Malarchuk played for the Portland Winter Hawks, Québec Nordiques, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres throughout his career. He was a very competent goalie, with a career record of 141 wins, 130 losses, 45 ties, 12 shutouts, and a 0.885 save percentage.

Throat injury

The infamous moment that Malarchuk is perhaps most known for occurred during a game on March 22, 1989, between the visiting St. Louis Blues and Malarchuk's Buffalo Sabres. Steve Tuttle of the Blues and Uwe Krupp of the Sabres collided at the mouth of the goal, and Tuttle's skate caught Malarchuk on the neck, severing his jugular vein/carotid artery.

With pools of blood collecting on the ice, Malarchuk somehow left the ice under his own power with the assistance of his team's athletic trainer, Jim Pizzutelli, ATC. Many spectators were physically sickened by the sight, with nine fainting and two suffering heart attacks while three teammates vomited on the ice. Local television cameras covering the game cut away from the sight of Malarchuk after realizing what had happened.

Malarchuk, meanwhile, had only two thoughts: He was going to die, and he had to do it the right way. "All I wanted to do was get off the ice", said Malarchuk. "My mother was watching the game on TV, and I didn't want her to see me die." Aware that his mother had been watching the game on TV, he had an equipment manager call and tell her he loved her. Then he asked for a priest.

Malarchuk's life was saved by Jim Pizzutelli, ATC, the team's athletic trainer and a former army medic who had served in Vietnam. He reached into Malarchuk's neck and pinched off the bleeding, not letting go until doctors arrived to begin suturing the wound. Still, Malarchuk came within minutes of becoming only the second fatality to result from an on-ice injury in NHL history (the first was Bill Masterton). It was estimated that if the skate hit 1/8 inch higher on Malarchuk's jugular, he would have been dead within 2 minutes. In the dressing room and on his way to the hospital, doctors spent 90 minutes and used over 300 stitches to close the wound. It was also said that had the incident occurred at the other end of the ice (Malarchuk was on the locker room end of the ice, as the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium had the locker room exits at the end of the ice instead of the normal locations behind the benches), Malarchuk never would have made it and would have died.

Amazingly, after receiving more than 300 stitches to close the wound, Malarchuk returned to practice four days later, having spent only one night in the hospital. And about a week after that, he was back in goal against the Quebec Nordiques. "Doctors told me to take the rest of the year off, but there was no way", Malarchuk said. "The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be. I play for keeps." Malarchuk came back in time to play in the playoffs but only to lose to Ray Bourque and the Boston Bruins in a 4–1 series.

Malarchuk's performance declined over the next few years, to the point that he left the NHL. After this, he struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder (as he had since a young age), as well as nightmares and alcoholism, but he eventually returned to hockey, in the International Hockey League. After retiring as a player, Malarchuk continued his hockey career as a coach.

Despite Malarchuk's injury, the NHL does require only goalies protective neck gear for any of its players.

Similar accidents

In 1995, a Swedish hockey player, Bengt Åkerblom, died of blood loss after an incident similar to Malarchuk's. As a result of Åkerblom's death, it became mandatory on June 1, 1996, to wear protective neck gear for all players in the Swedish series.

On February 10, 2008, coincidentally again in Buffalo, Florida Panthers' Slovak player Richard Zedník suffered an injury similar to Malarchuk after Olli Jokinen's skate blade cut the side of Zedník's neck injuring his carotid artery and barely missing his jugular vein. Upon viewing the footage of Zednik's injury, Malarchuk was taken aback, saying that he didn't think his memory of his own incident would come back after 19 years. Malarchuk also stated he would like to speak with Zednik once the time was right.

Gun incident

On October 7th, 2008, Malarchuk suffered what, according to his wife, Joan, is a self-inflicted gun shot wound to his chin from a .22 calibre rifle at his residence in Fish Springs, Nevada. Malarchuk was discovered bleeding profusely on a bench by his wife, Joan, who had just arrived home from work, who immediately called the authorities. Nevada's Record Courier reports that, according to his wife, Malarchuk, who was hunting rabbits at the time, had rest the rifle between his legs and with its butt on the ground when it suddenly discharged. Officers and paramedics who arrived on the scene report that Malarchuk, who was bleeding from both his mouth and chin, was uncooperative and initially refused treatment, and continued to do so after he was rushed to Carson Valley Medical Center in Gardnerville. Malarchuk was later flown to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno for treatment and released less than a week after the shooting.

By October 10, 2008, sheriff’s deputies in Douglas County, Nevada completed their investigation into the incident, concluding that Malarchuk's shooting was "accidental under suspicious circumstances" and that, unless contradicting information is found, the matter is closed. Responding to suggestions that the incident could have been a suicide attempt, sheriffs' spokesperson, Sgt. Jim Halsey, states that he cannot rule it out. However, Halsey elaborates no further other than saying that the Malarchuks had been arguing and that it is remote that a rifle would discharge simply by being placed, as it was, on the ground. Both Malarchuks vehemently refute suggestions that this was a suicide attempt. The Canadian Press reports that Joan had informed authorities that her husband is not supposed to consume alcohol as he is currently on prescription medications for obsessive-compulsive disorder but was doing so anyways at the time of the accident.

Coaching career

• Clint Malarchuk was a goaltending coach for the Florida Panthers during the season 2002–2003. He was signed as the goaltending coach for 2006–2007 by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

External links

• Clint Malarchuk career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Malarchuk's horrific accident still etched in memory
• Post injury interview with Malarchuk