Report: Former NHL tough guy joins lawsuit against the NHL.

Whether you agree or disagree with the lawsuit that’s been brought against the NHL by former players who continue to struggle with symptoms related to concussions, one thing is certain, the symptoms they suffer from are horrendous. Former NHL tough guy Dan LaCouture, 37, played 337 games in the NHL with six different teams. While in the league, he was no stranger to dropping the gloves and frequently was the guy who stood up for his teammates. He spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and recounted the horrible after-effects of numerous concussions. An excerpt: I have debilitating headaches, nausea and motion sickness every day. I am always irritable. And with recent studies showing the shattering illnesses linked to traumatic brain injury, along with the recent news of National Hockey League legend Stan Mikita’s unfortunate battle with dementia, I fear worse symptoms are yet to come. … My most serious concussion occurred in 2004 during a game at Madison Square Garden when I jumped into a fight to defend a Rangers teammate who had been hit from behind. During the brawl, my helmet slipped off and I split my head open on the ice as another player landed on top of me. The next thing I remember was being lifted off the ice by teammates and trainers. I got some stitches but never received an MRI, a CAT scan or serious medical treatment of any kind. Awareness regarding the seriousness of head injuries has since evolved from the time LaCouture played. However, keep in mind this lawsuit is about the past and how the NHL dealt with these injuries back in the old days. LaCouture alleges that the NHL “for years denied the link between hits to the head and devastating neurological disorders,” and also that the league “concealed information from players.” The league obviously denies any concealment in this matter, and disagrees with this particular allegation. In any case, the damage has been don to these former players. “I probably had 17 or 18 concussions through my career, five or six documented,” said LaCouture, “Just after you have a concussion, you think you’re going to lose your job. So you try to play through it.” “It seems that when I look back, starting from that concussion is when things for me personally and physically started going downhill — my personality, my way of being as a person,” LaCouture said. “Over the years, my father would always say to me: ‘What’s wrong with you? Why do you snap so quickly? Why do you get so angry?’ I’m like, ‘Dad, I don’t mean to — I’m sorry.” “The only one I don’t have is short-term memory loss,” LaCouture said. “Is dementia inevitable? Probably.”