Mario Lemieux Weighs In On Concussions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's been 20 years since the Penguins first lifted the Stanley Cup and today most of that '91 team gathered to celebrate and play some golf.
But there was a bit of a pall hanging over the festivities – the health status of Sidney Crosby.
While Mario Lemieux was the captain back in '91, today he's the owner and has his own captain to worry about as Crosby's concussion issues linger.
"The last time I talked to him was a couple weeks ago," Lemieux said.
There may not be much to report, but there is a lot that has changed since that '91 team skated the cup, particularly in the awareness of concussions.
"A lot of guys have been hit with concussion over the last two or three years – severe concussion – and something that is taken seriously now whereas before, you know, you'd miss a shift or two, come back and sometimes you go back and wonder why you were tired all the time, not feeling up to par," Lemieux said.
"You just went out there – you just went out there and you played. You come back, you give it a shake, put water on yourself and go out and played," Paul Coffey said. "Now does that make us any tougher than the guys that are playing today? Absolutely not. I mean, the guys are smarter, the medical staff – they're not smarter, there's more information."
"For Sid, I hope he's going to be 100 percent before he comes back because the problem's not today, the problem for him would be 20 years from now," Larry Murphy said.
