OTTAWA \u2013 NHL legend Henri Richard has been diagnosed with stage 3 (of 4) chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) by Dr. Stephen Saikali at Universit\u00e9 Laval in Qu\u00e9bec City. Richard died in 2020 at the age of 84. Denis Richard, son of the Hockey Hall of Famer, is publicly releasing the findings of his father\u2019s brain study through the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) Canada to help raise awareness for the risks of repetitive head impacts in hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope my father\u2019s brain donation and diagnosis will lead to more prevention efforts, research, and eventually a CTE treatment,\u201d said Denis Richard. \u201cI want people to understand this is a disease that impacts athletes far beyond football.\u201d<\/p>\n
16 of 17 NHL players studied have now been diagnosed with CTE, including Steve Montador, Ralph Backstrom, Bob Probert, and Richard\u2019s fellow Hall of Famer Stan Mikita. CTE has also been diagnosed in amateur hockey players. Boston University researchers found that each additional year of playing hockey may increase a person\u2019s odds of developing CTE by about 23%.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenri Richard was not an enforcer and CTE still ravaged his brain. It is far past time for all of us in the Canadian sports community to acknowledge the long-term effects of repetitive impacts on the brain,\u201d said Tim Fleiszer, Executive Director of Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada and a four-time Grey Cup Champion. \u201cWe are grateful to the Richard family for their decision to share Henri\u2019s diagnosis publicly to help others and are hopeful it will inspire change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard won more Stanley Cups as a player than anyone in NHL history in his 20-year career with the Canadiens. Richard\u2019s former Montreal teammate, fellow Hockey Hall of Famer, and former Federal Cabinet Minister Ken Dryden has long called for the NHL and for hockey at all levels to severely penalize all hits to the head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played with Henri. We won two Cups together. He fits none of the easy stereotypes, checks none of the easy boxes. Played in a different time, old-time hockey, all the fights? Not Henri. Big hitter? Not Henri. Like Stan Mikita and Ralph Backstrom, he was a great skater, and physical, but he had a playmaker\u2019s mind, and played that way. But all those hits to the head,\u201d said Dryden. \u201cWe have to understand, whatever the sport, a hit to the head is not a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n