There has been a lot of recent activity in the NHL with the trade deadline passing and also a player collapsing on the bench during a game. It’s been quite a few weeks in the hockey world.

The trade deadline had quite a few players getting flipped around between teams and several of these trades had a number of eyebrows raised. One in particular was that of Martin St. Louis formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning being traded to the New York Rangers.

St. Louis was a fan favorite in Tampa Bay and also the team’s captain for a length of time, I myself was shocked at this trade but that also made me remember, NHL hockey is a business not just a game. Players will go where the money is in some situations while others just want a fresh start with a new team. Many players go where their agent tells them and they don’t really have much say.

Fans get overly upset when their team loses a star player in a trade, and I understand that as much as anybody, but many people have to realize that that player doesn’t have it easy.

Would it be easy to leave a team you’ve been with for so long that everyone is family to you? Would it be easy to just say goodbye to a place you call home and move halfway across the country? No, it wouldn’t.

There is the fact that the player is making way more money than the average person and they are living a life of luxury for the most part other than the constant travel and possibility of injuries. But my point with all of this, is cut the player some slack; they are doing what they believe is right and they deserve to make that decision without being called names for doing so.

Player injury

The injury that I mentioned earlier about the player that collapsed on the bench is one injury no one saw coming. The player had been dealing with a heart issue for most of the season and for some reason it happened during the game- apparently it was some kind of cardiac issue.

He is doing fine now and is undergoing tests to find out the problems but keep this player in your thoughts because that is one scary thing to undergo for both himself and his teammates who were around him at the time of the incident.