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| Photo Credit: aol.sportingnews.com |
I woke up today, got some coffee brewing and then sat down
at the computer. As always, my first
move of the day is to log onto Twitter and catch up on the overnight
tweets. In between all the NFL
free-agency news, I saw a sad announcement:
Blake Geoffrion will announce his retirement after suffering a horrific
skull fracture after a violent hit during a game on November 9th, 2012.
Geoffrion, the 2010 Hobey Baker award winner for best
collegiate hockey player in the US, was acquired from the Nashville Predators in
the Hal Gill trade on Feb 17, 2012. When he made his debut with the Canadiens,
he became the first fourth-generation Canadien: His father Dan Geoffrion,
grandfather Bernie ‘Boom-Boom’ Geoffrion and great-grandfather, Howie Morenz,
all preceded him. The Habs blood-line
ran thick with Geoffrion. He finished
the 2011-12 season with 2 goals in 13 games with the Habs.
I’ve always had a soft-spot for Geoffrion. I liked the back story of his family history
and I liked how he respected the history of the Canadiens and his family’s role
in that history. Choosing to honor both
his grandfather and great-grandfather by donning the No.57 (Bernie Geoffrion
wore 5, Howie Morenz 7 and both numbers are retired), I hoped he would have
secured a spot on the opening day lineup.
Instead the NHL lockout forced him to start the year playing for the
Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League (AHL), where he suffered his
unfortunate career-ending injury. While
talented, he never projected to be more than a bottom six depth player at the
NHL level. He possessed good size and a solid two-way game, but he never projected to be a scoring champion.
However, due to circumstances beyond his control, his
professional hockey career is over. I do
applaud him for taking the smart path and putting his long-term health above
his career aspirations. Its never easy for an athlete to give up the sport they
devoted their life to. I would imagine
its especially hard to step away when their career is cut short due to injury
and not because they were ready to step aside. Every athlete wants to leave on their own
terms.
I would speculate that Geoffrion will be offered a position
within the organization, should he choose to accept it. He is a bright, young individual with a
degree to fall back on. He’ll land on his feet and do well whatever he chooses
to do. Due to a freak injury, suffered in a game he was potentially only
playing in because of the NHL lockout, we’re left wondering what could have
been for Blake Geoffrion.
Good luck in the future, Blake.
Nick M. is a transplanted Montrealer, currently living in evil
LeafLand. He is a weekly contributor here at habsaddict.com and he can often be found
rambling on Twitter.
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