Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
News broke yesterday that New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi is going to wear a visor on his helmet for this season and from now on. It’s not because of an injury that he suffered, but because of his teammate and friend Marc Staal, who not only suffered a brutal eye injury but is still suffering.
Staal’s injury last season against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 5 will be one that no Ranger player, front office member, or fan will ever forget.
A deflected shot that caught Staal by surprise and hit him square in the right eye gave him permanent damage that he will have to play with throughout the rest of his career.
It is very doubtful after that type of an injury that we will ever see the same great shutdown defender Staal was before that March 5 game last season.
This is why players like Girardi will now take the proper precautions that are necessary to protect one of the most valuable senses in human life.
Not only will he do this for his NHL career but also for his newborn daughter. It was announced over the weekend that Girardi and his wife had a baby girl, their second child.
Being a family man and a professional hockey player leaves a guy with a lot of responsibilities in life, and doing something as little as wearing a small shield on a helmet to protect your eye sight is a very intelligent thing to do. I really hope every player throughout the rest of the league follows Girardi and all of the other players who used to not wear a visor and have now decided otherwise after seeing first hand what can actually happen if you don’t. It is definitely not worth it.
Steven Carollo is a New York Rangers’ and sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, connect with him on LinkedIn, and join his Google network.
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