(VIDEO): Former NHL enforcer committed vicious attack to protect himself.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers enforcer André Deveaux is continuing to pay for a vicious attack he committed while playing in Sweden. After a home video of Deveaux brutally assaulting a player during warmups went viral, his contract was terminated by Rogle BK of Sweden’s second-tier professional league. In addition, the victim of his attack Per Helmerrson of VIK Vasteras HK is pressing charges against Deveaux for his act. Now he has been suspended by the league until February 2016 for his vicious slash. Now Deveaux has finally spoken out about the vicious attack, and he tells a very different story. Deveaux claims he was only trying to protect himself after he suffered a very serious concussion in Rogle's previous game.He claims to have been fully aware of his actions, saying he attacked Helmersson prior to the next game because he was concerned for his own safety. “I’m out there with a serious injury and guys (on the Vasteras team) are out there telling me they’re going to do it again,” Deveaux said. “At some point, my safety has to become a priority. I’ve been around the block and I know the difference between chirping and threatening. What’s the alternative? It starts out where guys are saying, ‘Oh look who’s up. Look who’s back.’ And then it goes from that to every time I go by the red line, ‘Maybe today you’re going to go off on a stretcher? You won’t see me coming either.’ What’s the alternative? Do I wait for that and hope it doesn’t happen? I have a family. I’m in a foreign country and no one seems to care. “You don’t know what it’s like when no one has your interests in mind,” Deveaux continued. “Five years down the road, I don’t want to be rolling around in a wheelchair regretting that I should have done something.” Deveaux claims he was never diagnosed with a concussion by Rogle doctors and instead was treated for whiplash and a sore jaw. And while the Rogle doctors initially said they didn’t believe Deveaux had a concussion, the chairman of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association’s disciplinary committee says Deveaux told the committee after the incident that he hid the fact from Rogle doctors that he had been knocked unconscious after the Helmersson hit because he wanted to keep playing and help Rogle win the Allsvensken and gain entry into the Swedish Elite League next season. “He told us that he deliberately misled his team and that he was ready to go,” said Alexander Ramsey, the chairman of the disciplinary committee. “He said he wanted to secure a contract for the following season and him getting a new contract was dependent on (Rogle gaining entry into the Elite League).” The incident occurred in the Allsvensken playoff final between Deveaux’s Rogle team and Vasteras. In Game 3 of the championship series, Deveaux was hit from behind by Helmersson and had to leave the game. Prior to Game 4, Deveaux attacked Helmersson, which resulted in his suspension and the possibility of criminal charges for assault being filed: