Former Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks enforcer Gino Odjick, 43, was admitted to a Gatineau psychiatric hospital December 3 for undisclosed reasons.
Sources close to “the Algonquin Enforcer” say he claims his problems stem from the numerous concussions he suffered during his years playing and fighting in the National Hockey League. Former teammates and colleagues report that Odjick appeared at a Pavel Bure jersey retirement ceremony wearing sneakers and a hat when he should have dressed formally. “He was way gone at Pavel’s thing,” said Kumi Kimura, his business manager.
Odjick played 444 of his 605 NHL games with the Canucks. He earned 137 points and 2,567 penalty minutes in his career. He retired in 2002 after two seasons as a Hab. Meanwhile, 10 former NHL players have filed a class-action suit claiming that the league has not done enough to protect their players from concussions.
The former NHLer told a Quebec journalist recently, “I’m here for my concussions. Since I retired in 2002, I have spent 32 months at the hospital.”
Odjick’s father Joe passed away on November 25.
