Toews To Sit Out Another Game With A Concussion

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 22, 2012 10:00PM

The Blackhawks have ruled captain Jonathan Toews out for tomorrow night's game against the Dallas Stars with what they've been calling an "upper body injury." How high up on Toews's body is his injury? WSCR-AM Blackhawks beat reporter Jay Zawaski reports that Captain Serious has a concussion.

According to Zawaski's source, Toews suffered the concussion early in the Blackhawks' recently completed road trip from Hell, most likely during their Feb. 10 match at San Jose. If so, that means Toews stubbornly played the next five games with a bruised brain until he was scratched for last night's win against Detroit. It should also frustrate fans of the Blackhawks and NHL regarding the league's policy on disclosing only the most vague details of a player's injury.

But fans should be worried more about Toews's long-term health, even—if Zawaski's sources are accurate—as Toews isn't. Knowing what we know now about the after effects of concussions, there's no need for a player to try and tough it out. Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby suffered a concussion after successive hits in January 2011 and missed the remainder of the 2010-11 season, the first 20 games of the 2011-12 season, and hasn't played since Dec. 5 with concussion-like symptoms.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who was Public Enemy Number One during the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals against the Blackhawks, is also dealing with aftereffects from a concussion. Pronger's wife Lauren spoke candidly about what her husband is going through.

"It's a tough go at home," she said. "We're going day-to-day right now -- good days, bad days. It's been a lot of trauma going on. We're just praying right now. He's battling. He wants to be out there more than anybody. It's tough for all of us to watch him go through this."

Crosby, Pronger, and head injuries to other NHL stars like Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Kris Letang, and Jeff Skinner make one wonder if the NHL's tough talk on concussions, and the league's slow disclosure of them, is mere lip service. Regardless, Toews should only return to the ice when he's perfectly healthy.