Clint Malarchuk: the former Nordiques goalie recalls the day that the contentious Montreal-Quebec rivalry turned ugly - The Game I'll Never Forget - Quebec Nordiques

Hockey Digest, Dec, 2003 by Chuck O'Donnell

Fighting Battles on and off the Ice

IN 10 NHL SEASONS, CLINT MALARCHUK won 141 games, posted a 3.41 goals against average, shared the league lead in shutouts one season, and was picked to play with the NHL All-Stars against the Soviets in Rendez-Vous '87 But even he knows he'll always be known for the accident that almost took his life.

On March 22, 1989, the Sabres goalie was involved in a goalmouth collision with St Louis Blues winger Steve Tuttle and Buffalo defenseman Uwe Krupp. Tuttle's skate sliced Malarchuk's neck like a scythe cutting wheat severing his jugular vein Malarchuk had the presence el mind to get up quickly and race off the ice. But with each beat of his heart. blood was spurting out of the wound.

It's been said that the sight of the injury sickened so many fans at the old Auditorium that the Sabres' medical staff ran out of stretchers. Malarchuk could have died right then and there, but he got immediate attention. He got 300 stitches and spent just one night in the hospital. Miraculously, he returned to play a week later.

"It's my claim to fame, and that's aft right," Malarchuk says. "People say I was courageous for coming back. That's how I want people to view it. I was tough and I came back as quick as I could. Everyone in the media said. 'That's it. He's done. He'll never come back.' I was back playing in a week. The reason did that was: You get bucked oft the horse, you have to get right back on, Otherwise, the fear factor gets worse. When I came back, I was still weak because of the amount of blood I had lost. I was still getting my strength back and it was July.

"At the moment of the accident, I thought I was done. I thought I was going to die. That's why I got off the ice as quick as I did. I knew my morn was home watching the game and I didn't want her to see that."

Although that may have been Malarchuk's most public battle, he's had a lot of private ones. Years after the incident, he sought medical treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. He suffered through constant anxiety attacks and at one point, went two weeks with virtually no sleep.

It's been a hard road for the Grande Prairie. Alberta native, but Malarchuk is philosophical about his journey. "If you go through adversity and win, you become a stronger, wiser person," says Malarchuk, who has three children with his wife, Christy.

Malarchuk is in his second season as the Florida Panthers goalie coach. General manager Rick Dudley, who hired Malarchuk in July 2002, was impressed with his work as coach of the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL and Idaho Steelbeads of the WCHL and thinks he's the man to tutor Roberto Luongo, the Panthers' young goalie. "Clint has worked and excelled in all levels of hockey," Dudley says. "At every level he has bean revered and respected by teammates, coaches and colleagues."

Malarchuk began his career with Quebec, After bouncing between the minors and the Nordiques, he established himself as one of the best goalies in the league during the 1985-86 season, going 26-12-4. He was traded to Washington during the 1987-88 season, going 24-20-4 and tying for the league lead with four shutouts.