I remember when this happened.
The first time Malarchuk came close to dying, fans and TV viewers watched in horror as his throat was cut during a Buffalo Sabres game. He grabbed his neck as blood spurted onto the ice. Malarchuk thought he was going to die and told one trainer to call his mother. He didn’t die, of course, and was back on the ice not long after being stitched back together. The wound healed, but the mental devastation was only starting.
It was kind of traumatic to see, I still can’t believe that any network actually replayed it, but they did. I have no doubt that the effects on Clint’s mental health were massive. I was shocked he even tried to play again. I couldn’t imagine wanting to after something like that, but I am glad that he’s here talking about the mental health struggles and PTSD that came out of that injury, because people need to hear it, and understand that after trauma, those things are normal and they can be overcome. They are not a sign of weakness.
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