Why did Cam Neely retire so soon?

Green Blob*

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Probably a simple answer, but why did Neely retire so early? Seemed to be pretty dominate his last season in the NHL. I noticed he didnt play many games the last few years of his career, was he very injury prone?
 

aemoreira1981

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Jan 27, 2012
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Knee and hip problems...all starting with an Ulf Samuelsson hit. Neely kept trying to come back from the knee problems, but the hip problems ended his career at age 31.
 

Mayor Bee

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Dec 29, 2008
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Probably a simple answer, but why did Neely retire so early? Seemed to be pretty dominate his last season in the NHL. I noticed he didnt play many games the last few years of his career, was he very injury prone?

Ulf Samuelsson took him out. After the initial injury to Neely's leg, there was a huge buildup of calcium deposits in the muscle, which caused their own issues. This led to hip damage.

I believe Neely had hip replacement surgery less than a year after he retired.
 

Pi

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Nov 16, 2010
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It kind of sucks for Boston...two of the long list of great players to play for the Bruins had their careers shortened because of knee injuries.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
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Ulf Samuelsson happened

Samuelsson was a dirty player but this is to simplify it. Neely had a very reckless playing style and played in a reckless era. That playing style helped him score a lot of goals but also cut the number of games. Same for Bure, Lindros, Forsberg.
 

rkhum

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Aug 3, 2011
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Oh please, Ulf contributed, but Neely was gimp well before Ulf.
His problems did not begin, nor end with Ulf. This guy always had problems staying the line up due to his knees so this whole Ulf is the villian who ruined Neely is a complete exaggeration.

Watching NHL rivals I found it hypocritical to see Milbury and the Bruins complain about cheap shots seeing as how their monikor is the bad bruins, their legacy is with Eddie Shore, and they employ Marchand, Lucic, had Sanderson, Cashman and a long history of being goons.

Cry me a river.
 

Mayor Bee

Registered User
Dec 29, 2008
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Oh please, Ulf contributed, but Neely was gimp well before Ulf.
His problems did not begin, nor end with Ulf. This guy always had problems staying the line up due to his knees so this whole Ulf is the villian who ruined Neely is a complete exaggeration.

Up through the hit by Samuelsson, Neely had played in 508 of a possible 560 regular season games (90.5%) after his rookie year.

After the Samuelsson hit, Neely played in 162/378 (42.9%).
 

Killion

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Feb 19, 2010
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Neely was Sea Bass in Dumb and Dumber

...the more you know.

... :laugh: indeed. Reprising the role in Dumb & Dumber To along with Jim Carrey's Me, Myself & Irene. Also appeared on D2; The Mighty Ducks, Denis Learys' Rescue Me and did a cameo on Cheers.
 

BraveCanadian

Registered User
Jun 30, 2010
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Up through the hit by Samuelsson, Neely had played in 508 of a possible 560 regular season games (90.5%) after his rookie year.

After the Samuelsson hit, Neely played in 162/378 (42.9%).

I know Samuelsson often gets all the blame (and I don't like him as a hockey player at all) but, if I recall correctly, it is true that Neely already had problems with his knee and the Samuelsson hit just made it worse.
 

Bear of Bad News

Your Third or Fourth Favorite HFBoards Admin
Sep 27, 2005
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Probably a simple answer, but why did Neely retire so early? Seemed to be pretty dominate his last season in the NHL. I noticed he didnt play many games the last few years of his career, was he very injury prone?

For the sake of you starting future threads, your thread wasn't a "random question". I've changed your thread title to reflect your question.
 

struckbyaparkedcar

Guilty of Being Right
Mar 1, 2008
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Wasn't it a hit other than "the" Ulf hit (the knee on knee they showed at every commercial break last night) that started Neely's knee calcifying?

I remember something about Ulf sticking his knee out in response to a Neely bodycheck causing that issue.
 

Cruor

Registered User
May 12, 2012
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I know Samuelsson often gets all the blame (and I don't like him as a hockey player at all) but, if I recall correctly, it is true that Neely already had problems with his knee and the Samuelsson hit just made it worse.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Neely end up re-injuring himself in a bad way after trying to nail Ulf in retaliation?
 

Boxscore

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Jan 22, 2007
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Remember in Star Wars when Chewy was carrying around C-3PO in a backpack? Well Neely = Threepio.
 

tony d

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Jun 23, 2007
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As others have said the Samuelsson hit hurt Neely a lot. If that hadn't happened you have to wonder just how much better his career would of been.
 

bruins309

Krejci Fight Club
Sep 17, 2007
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It's been forgotten by most people that after he retired in 1996, he attempted a comeback in November 1998. I remember picking up the newspaper that day and seeing that and just being floored that he was going to try, and was pumped that he was probably going to play again.

But in the end, he practiced for about 5-7 days as a trial run, and packed it in because he just couldn't move the way he wanted to.

It's kind of interesting to note that Neely is more beloved in Boston than Ray Bourque is, and that pre-dates Neely's turn in the front office.
 

JSmith81x

Your weapon is guilt
Dec 20, 2002
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Missed part of 1984-85 season with dislocated kneecap, an injury suffered when he was checked by Denis Potvin during Vancouver's Oct. 23, 1984, game at N.Y. Islanders. He did not return to action until Vancouver's Nov. 12, 1984, game vs. Montreal.

Missed 1985-86 season-opener with dislocated kneecap, an injury suffered during Vancouver's 1985 training camp.

Missed part of 1985-86 season with separated shoulder, an injury suffered when he collided with Ed Olczyk during Vancouver's Nov. 26, 1985, game vs. Chicago. He did not return to action until Vancouver's Dec. 11, 1985, game vs. Winnipeg.

Missed part of 1986-87 season with sprained knee, suffered during Boston's Nov. 1, 1986, game at Philadelphia. He did not return to action until Boston's Nov. 15, 1986, game vs. New Jersey.

Missed part of 1987-88 season with slipped right kneecap, an injury suffered during Boston's Feb. 12, 1988, game at Edmonton. He did not return to action until Boston's Feb. 25, 1988, game vs. Hartford.

Missed parts of 1988-89 season with broken right thumb and inflamed right knee, injuries suffered during Boston's Dec. 6, 1988, game at N.Y. Islanders.

Missed part of 1988-89 season with re-aggravation of right knee injury, suffered during Boston's practice on March 6, 1989.

Missed part of 1988-89 season with strained right shoulder, an injury suffered during Boston's March 23, 1989, game vs. New Jersey. He did not return to action until Boston's April 1, 1989, game at Quebec.

Missed parts of 1989-90 season with hyper-extended knee, an injury suffered during Boston's Oct. 20, 1989, game at Edmonton, and with pulled groin, an injury suffered during Boston's March 15, 1990, game vs. Winnipeg.

Missed part of 1990-91 season with broken nose, an injury suffered during Boston's Oct. 27, 1990, game vs. Chicago. The injury required surgery.

Suspended by NHL for five games during 1990-91 season for hitting Randy Ladouceur over the back of the head with his stick during Boston's Nov. 23, 1990, game vs. Hartford. Neely received a match penalty for attempting to injure Ladouceur on the play. The penalty prompted a review by the NHL league office. A hearing was held on Nov. 26, 1990, and the NHL announced the suspension on Nov. 27, 1990. Hartford had been seeking a 10-game suspension, while Boston had been asking for one game. Neely sat out Boston's games between Nov. 27 and Dec. 9.

Missed part of 1990-91 season with left hip pointer injury, suffered during Boston's March 14, 1991, game vs. Montreal.

Missed Boston's 1991 training camp and first half of 1991-92 season with deep bruise in left thigh, an injury suffered when he was checked by Ulf Samuelsson during Game 6 of Boston's Wales Conference finals series at Pittsburgh on May 11, 1991.


http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1983/83009.html
 

Hawksfan2828

Registered User
Mar 1, 2007
13,437
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Libertyville, IL
Knee and hip problems...all starting with an Ulf Samuelsson hit. Neely kept trying to come back from the knee problems, but the hip problems ended his career at age 31.

I do know he had bad knees however, I thought it was actually his thigh that got hit and his thigh muscle calcified or something along those lines.
 

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