Hockey Hall of Famer Henri Richard had stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his death in March 2020, the family of the Montreal Canadiens legend announced Wednesday.
“I hope my father’s brain donation and diagnosis will lead to more prevention efforts, research, and eventually a CTE treatment,” said Richard’s son, Denis Richard, in a statement published by the Concussion Legacy Foundation. “I want people to understand this is a disease that impacts athletes far beyond football.”
CTE is described as “a progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated traumatic brain injuries,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Richard, who won an NHL-record 11 Stanley Cups, died at the age of 84 and was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease at the time. According to the foundation’s press release, 16 of the 17 NHL players studied have been diagnosed with CTE, including Steve Montador, Ralph Backstrom, Bob Probert and Stan Mikita.
Richard retired in 1975, and helmets were not made mandatory by the NHL until 1979.
Richard’s former Montreal teammate, fellow Hall of Famer Ken Dryden, has been asking for the National Hockey League, as well as hockey at other levels, to severely penalize all hits to the head because of the long term damages they cause.
“I played with Henri. We won two Cups together. He fits none of the easy stereotypes, checks none of the easy boxes,” Dryden said in a statement. “Played in a different time, old-time hockey, all the fights? Not Henri. Big hitter? Not Henri. Like Stan Mikita and Ralph Backstrom, he was a great skater, and physical, but he had a playmaker’s mind, and played that way. But all those hits to the head. We have to understand, whatever the sport, a hit to the head is not a good thing.”