Henri Richard, an 11-time Stanley Cup champion and Montreal Canadiens legend, had Stage 3 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) when he died at 84 years old, his family announced.
CTE is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head injuries, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Richard’s son, Denis, released findings from the study in hopes it will raise awareness for the risk of head impacts in hockey.
“I hope my father’s brain donation and diagnosis will lead to more prevention efforts, research, and eventually a CTE treatment,” said Denis Richard. “I want people to understand this is a disease that impacts athletes far beyond football.”
Richard, who died in March 2020, appeared in 1,258 games across 20 years with the Canadiens during a time when players refrained from wearing helmets.
The NHL mandated the use of helmets in 1979 — four years after Richard’s retirement.
Richard’s Canadiens teammate Ken Dryden praised the “Pocket Rocket” for his skating and physical style of play, but said he didn’t fit the “easy stereotypes” associated with hockey players and CTE.
“He had a playmaker’s mind and played that way. But all those hits to the head,” Dryden said. “We have to understand, whatever the sport, a hit to the head is not a good thing.”
Richard was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.
According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, 16 of 17 NHL players involved in the study were diagnosed with CTE including Chicago Blackhawks star Stan Mikita.
Mikita, who died in 2020, was the first hockey Hall of Famer to be diagnosed with the brain disease.
The CTE Society said symptoms of Stage 3 CTE include memory loss, executive dysfunction, attention and concentration issues, depression, and mood swings, the CTE society classified.
Seventy-five percent of people classified as Stage 3 are cognitively impaired.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, however, disputed a direct correlation between CTE and playing hockey.
“We listen to the medical opinions on CTE, and I don’t believe there has been any documented study that suggests that elements of our game result in CTE,” Bettman told NPR in April. “There have been isolated cases of players who have played the game [who] have had CTE. But it doesn’t mean that it necessarily came from playing in the NHL.”
In 2018, the NHL reached a settlement worth $19M with over 100 former players who alleged the league failed to protect them from head injuries and warn them of the potential risks of playing.
Players who had opted into the settlement received $22,000 and up to $75,000 in medical treatment, according to the AP.
