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November 25, 2010

Pucks on the 'Net: Holy Smokes!

Here's an interesting article from the Toronto Star on smoking amongst hockey players:
"....a little known statistic about former NHL star Steve Larmer that doesn’t appear in record books: He puffed his way through more than a pack of cigarettes each day of his career.

Back in Larmer’s era, the ’80s and early ’90s, there were often a half-dozen smokers on every team. The players lit up on the way to the rink and between periods. Many were stars of the day: Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy, Rick Vaive among others.

“Denis Savard and Larmer were two of the best players I ever played with, but they both smoked liked chimneys,” said former Leafs defenceman Bob McGill, who played, and smoked, with Larmer for four years in Chicago.
And don't think it does not happen still today.
"You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who admits to smoking cigarettes in the NHL these days. Those around the game say some still do it but do it less publicly due to the anti-smoking bylaws and stigma attached to smoking.

"Using snuff and chewing tobacco, however, still appears to be popular among many players, including Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin."
Elsewhere in news concerning former hockey stars:

1 comment:

Derek O'Brien said...

Yesterday I spoke with Augustin BunĂ­k, who has a long history in Czech and international hockey. He coached Ivan Hlinka in Litvinov and he was saying how he used to get on him about his smoking.