NHL Legend Sends Advice To Tua Tagovailoa

One longtime NHL star knows how difficult concussions are to overcome.

Jon Alfano | Sep 24, 2024

Sep 18, 2005; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Eric Lindros (88) on the ice against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. Credit: Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK / Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

The story of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa may be one of the most tragic in modern sports.

Tagovailoa, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is a very talented player, but has one of the most unfortunate injury histories of any athlete today. The 26-year-old has suffered three diagnosed concussions over the past three seasons, the latest coming in a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 12. He's now on injured reserve until at least mid-October, and calls for him to hang up his cleats and protect himself are louder than ever.

Many in the sports world have weighed in on the situation, but few can relate to what Tagovailoa is going through more than NHL legend Eric Lindros. His advice? Health is more important than sports.

"There's a lot more to life than sport,” Lindros told Sportsnet's Emily Sadler. “You play a sport for a long time. But hopefully, hopefully, it's not more than half your life, right?"

Lindros, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016, sadly dealt with many concussions throughout his NHL career. He even sat out the entire 2000-01 season after a series of concussions over his eight-year stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, dealing with the same questions Tagovailoa is likely asking himself now.

"I had a choice to make when I left Philadelphia, and waited to be traded,” Lindros said. “I thought I could come back and play and be healthy and be the same player I was before, the same player I was when I was in Philly. But I just, I never was.”

The former No. 1 overall pick played five more seasons after coming back in 2001. As Lindros said, though, he was never quite the same player as he was in Philadelphia, which he largely attributes to his struggles with timing due to all the concussions. Now all these years later, he wonders if he should've come back at all.

“Should I have returned after Philadelphia? I don't know,” Lindros said. “I just loved the game so much. And that's the thing: I just loved the game somuch, and I was cleared by some doctors. I was cleared by the doctor that I went and saw up in Montreal — it was the specialist at the time. So, I thought I was going to be okay.”

Tagovailoa's decision is ultimately up to him and those closest to him, but if Lindros were in his shoes, he knows the choice he'd make.

"It's not my place to tell anybody what to do, but sometimes you got to step in for someone that might not know where they are," Lindros said.

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Published Sep 24, 2024

JON ALFANO