Definitely me. Stubbed my toe in junior b. If it wasn’t for that I would be headed to the nhl.
replayer
Rick DiPietro.
NineOne_OneThree
The mule
99titan
Oscar Klefbom.
Mauri416
Bryan Berard
Bobbyaahh
He’s recognized but not sure if people consider him a star. But Ekblads career would look a hell of a lot different if not for injuries. Even when he comes back it takes him a while to not play scared. And when he’s playing at his full potential he’s a Norris candidate.
CostcoHotdogsHateMe
Normand Levielle
darthtibula
Dan Blackburn.
Murky-Smoke
Joffrey Lupul comes to mind
PrayingForACup
Nathan Horton’s career was cut short.
Standby_fire
Cam Neely, Ulf Samuelsson dirty knee to knee in a he 91 Prince of Wales playoffs typifies his career. It also keep Neely from reaching his full potential and winning a Cup as he was debilitated the rest of his career.
Insane--Wizard
Marc Savard
BladesOfSteel88
Gordie Howe. Dude should have played into his 60s, at LEAST.
___daddy69___
Crosby is obvious already a star, but I imagine he would easily be considered the greatest player of the modern era if it wasn’t for his injuries.
ExplosionsAreCool
Ryan Murray could’ve been a really good 1 or 2D if he wasn’t made of glass.
I also think Alex Wennberg’s career would have looked a lot different if it weren’t for that concussion Tom Wilson gifted him.
Both of these dudes have been solid NHLers but it’s tough not to wonder what could’ve been.
merlin48
Kevin Stevens. Was never the same after the ’93 playoffs.
Going back a bit here, Gary Nylund (D) 6’4″ 210 lbs was drafted 3rd overall by the Leafs in 82, as was typical of the Ballard years he was playing in his rookie season before he was ready. Going on memory, he blew out his knee early that season and then came back way too soon, without a brace, and blew the knee out a second time only a few games back.
Even though he went on to play 600 games wearing a huge brace, the damage was done and he never reached what could of been a stellar career. It was well know he could be beat wide with speed because he just couldn’t turn on that knee anymore.
wickedweather
Josh Norris
Mwagman11
Paul Kariya.
Small-Wolverine-7166
Kariya would have reached another level of supernova if it wasn’t for all of the illegal hits to his head.
XeroKillswitch
Vladimir Konstantinov
Although, that may not be what you were referring to by an injury.
Dude was an absolute monster. And he was on the verge of a Norris. Sad what happened to him.
GlizzyDog222
He was already one of the greatest of all time but Carey Price
solaire_flare
definitely a star, he’s in the hall of fame. But when talking about USA greats, Pat Lafontaine was the best US born player and still would be if his career wasn’t cut short with concussions
Typical-Moment-9702
Mike Bossy one of the games biggest stars… but can you imagine how many more points he would’ve scored if he hadn’t had to retire after only 752 games?
Ecstatic-Arachnid-91
Maybe a bit biased but Vladamir Konstantinov. He could have been the bruiser D man that also had sweet moves with the puck.
langotang0
Franzen!
Gr8Bison
Mario Lemieux would have been greatest of all time if it wasn’t for back issues and lymphoma.
csnoff
Luc Bourdon, kid was going to be a stud. RIP
oisipf
Bobby Orr.
He was 46-89-135 and the Art Ross Trophy in 1974-75 after a couple of bad knee injuries in the early 70s.
If he didn’t have the knee injuries, he easily could have played 20 seasons. He was a physical outlier.
the1seajay
I’m really surprised I haven’t seen it here yet, but Jiri Fischer. Dude was shaping up to be a stud defenseman before suffering a heart attack on the bench during a game in 2005 against the Predators
xTomato72
Marc Savard was really good
attackermann
Konstantinov
cheezturds
Vladimir Konstantinov
HeretoLurk09
Gordon Bombay if it wasn’t for his career ending knee injury. He was “this close” to the NHL
djx72_
He’s already regarded pretty high but Pavel Bure would’ve been other worldly
bluewhite63
Bryan Berard. To quote Pat Quinn: “I’ll never forgive that young man (Marion Hossa ) for his recklessness with his stick (that cost Berard his eye, and eventually his career).
BadaBingSecurity
Pavel Bure.
Dude was a human highlight film and putting up insane numbers. Career cut short and tons of games lost with 6-8 knee surgeries.
Imagine what his final career numbers would have been.
45 Comments
He’s already a star, but Peter Forsberg.
Lindros
Gord Kluzak
Pelle Lindbergh. R.I.P.
Ondrej Kase
Dude is on fire when he’s not concussed.
Definitely me. Stubbed my toe in junior b. If it wasn’t for that I would be headed to the nhl.
Rick DiPietro.
The mule
Oscar Klefbom.
Bryan Berard
He’s recognized but not sure if people consider him a star. But Ekblads career would look a hell of a lot different if not for injuries. Even when he comes back it takes him a while to not play scared. And when he’s playing at his full potential he’s a Norris candidate.
Normand Levielle
Dan Blackburn.
Joffrey Lupul comes to mind
Nathan Horton’s career was cut short.
Cam Neely, Ulf Samuelsson dirty knee to knee in a he 91 Prince of Wales playoffs typifies his career. It also keep Neely from reaching his full potential and winning a Cup as he was debilitated the rest of his career.
Marc Savard
Gordie Howe. Dude should have played into his 60s, at LEAST.
Crosby is obvious already a star, but I imagine he would easily be considered the greatest player of the modern era if it wasn’t for his injuries.
Ryan Murray could’ve been a really good 1 or 2D if he wasn’t made of glass.
I also think Alex Wennberg’s career would have looked a lot different if it weren’t for that concussion Tom Wilson gifted him.
Both of these dudes have been solid NHLers but it’s tough not to wonder what could’ve been.
Kevin Stevens. Was never the same after the ’93 playoffs.
[This guy. was breaking Bobby Orr’s records in Junior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Fogarty)
Ales Hemsky
Going back a bit here, Gary Nylund (D) 6’4″ 210 lbs was drafted 3rd overall by the Leafs in 82, as was typical of the Ballard years he was playing in his rookie season before he was ready. Going on memory, he blew out his knee early that season and then came back way too soon, without a brace, and blew the knee out a second time only a few games back.
Even though he went on to play 600 games wearing a huge brace, the damage was done and he never reached what could of been a stellar career. It was well know he could be beat wide with speed because he just couldn’t turn on that knee anymore.
Josh Norris
Paul Kariya.
Kariya would have reached another level of supernova if it wasn’t for all of the illegal hits to his head.
Vladimir Konstantinov
Although, that may not be what you were referring to by an injury.
Dude was an absolute monster. And he was on the verge of a Norris. Sad what happened to him.
He was already one of the greatest of all time but Carey Price
definitely a star, he’s in the hall of fame. But when talking about USA greats, Pat Lafontaine was the best US born player and still would be if his career wasn’t cut short with concussions
Mike Bossy one of the games biggest stars… but can you imagine how many more points he would’ve scored if he hadn’t had to retire after only 752 games?
Maybe a bit biased but Vladamir Konstantinov. He could have been the bruiser D man that also had sweet moves with the puck.
Franzen!
Mario Lemieux would have been greatest of all time if it wasn’t for back issues and lymphoma.
Luc Bourdon, kid was going to be a stud. RIP
Bobby Orr.
He was 46-89-135 and the Art Ross Trophy in 1974-75 after a couple of bad knee injuries in the early 70s.
If he didn’t have the knee injuries, he easily could have played 20 seasons. He was a physical outlier.
I’m really surprised I haven’t seen it here yet, but Jiri Fischer. Dude was shaping up to be a stud defenseman before suffering a heart attack on the bench during a game in 2005 against the Predators
Marc Savard was really good
Konstantinov
Vladimir Konstantinov
Gordon Bombay if it wasn’t for his career ending knee injury. He was “this close” to the NHL
He’s already regarded pretty high but Pavel Bure would’ve been other worldly
Bryan Berard. To quote Pat Quinn: “I’ll never forgive that young man (Marion Hossa ) for his recklessness with his stick (that cost Berard his eye, and eventually his career).
Pavel Bure.
Dude was a human highlight film and putting up insane numbers. Career cut short and tons of games lost with 6-8 knee surgeries.
Imagine what his final career numbers would have been.
Bo Jackson