Why did Cam Neely retire so soon?

[Terry Yake]

because ulf samuelsson

but even before that he had tons of injury problems. the dirty hit by samuelsson was the nail in the coffin in terms of his pro career

 

[BraveCanadian]

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?

I do remember something along those lines but I forget the specifics

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Yes the hit that caused all the problems wasn't the Game 3 knee-on-knee everyone remembers. It happened in Game 6 when Neely tried to line Samuelsson up.

Listen to Neely explain around 25 seconds of this video. It doesn't have the video of the hit however.

 

[Retail1LO*]

Ulf Samuelsson low bridge.

 

[kmad]

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.

Soon to add Taylor Hall to the lower level of that list

 

[Big Phil]

... 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.

This stuff I didn't know. Sea Bass character of course, but where was he in Irene and Cheers?

Soon to add Taylor Hall to the lower level of that list

I think Hall is just flat out injury prone and clumsy on the ice. Always felt that about him. I mean he got injured in warm up last year.

 

[Dark Shadows]

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.

Uh, before the Ulf hit, Neely had a tremendous set of wheels and agility on his skates. Yes he had minor injuries to his knees prior, but never serious ones of the career ending caliber and he always rested them enough and was back and looked great.

The injury he suffered after Ulf hit him was career ending and every shift he played after was done through excruciating pain from his thigh. It forced him to change the way he skated just to be able to skate with less pain, which led to complicating problems with his knees.

Before that hit, the most he had ever missed in a season was around 11 games, due to multiple minor injuries and he always came back great. So Yes his crash and bang style did a number of small injuries a year.

The Ulf hit virtually sidelined him for 2 years and even after he came back, he was forced to sit out almost every 2nd game due to the fluid buildup in his knees from overcompensating due to the thigh injury.

It all stems from Ulf.

 

[Big Phil]

This is always an interesting discussion with Neely. When Ulf hit Neely the Pens were down 2-0 in the series. Neely had three goals in the first two games. Now, remember one thing here, Mario had 15 points in that 6 game series, one of the best performances against a team I've seen (this was a year before he turned Bourque inside out). He had 4 points in the first two games, but 11 the rest of the series.

My question is, would it have mattered whether or not Neely got hurt that series? Were Mario and the Pens going to comeback and win anyways? I've always fell on the side that this was Mario's time and he is not the kind of guy to bet against. But what do a lot of you Bruins fans think, was this your Cup year until Ulf?

 

[billybudd]

Ulf Samuelsson happened

Not really sure where this misconception came from, but according to Neely, his leg problems came about when he (Neely) lined up Samuelsson wrong.

Reason he hated Samuelsson, according to Neely, didn't have anything having to do with a hit Samuelsson put on him. It was that Ulf acted like a badass then ducked the fights that came with playing that way. Which is a completely legitimate reason to hate Ulf's guts, imo.

Ignore the footage and narrator and listen to what Neely actually says.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Neelys 1994 is easily one of the most underrated heroic performances in pro sports history. To me, it was the equivalent of a double amputee scoring 50 on prosthetics.

 

[Slapshooter]

Neelys 1994 is easily one of the most underrated heroic performances in pro sports history.

I agree. I can see why some think that Neely does not belong in the HOF, but imo he had enogh legendary stuff to warrant it. He defined the power forward game (say what you want about Gordie Howe), was a clutch playoff scorer, one of the best hitters ever, a very good fighter, scored 50 goals multiple times and in 1993-94 scored 50 goals in 49 games with a bum leg.

 

[Dark Shadows]

Not really sure where this misconception came from, but according to Neely, his leg problems came about when he (Neely) lined up Samuelsson wrong.

Reason he hated Samuelsson, according to Neely, didn't have anything having to do with a hit Samuelsson put on him. It was that Ulf acted like a badass then ducked the fights that came with playing that way. Which is a completely legitimate reason to hate Ulf's guts, imo.

Ignore the footage and narrator and listen to what Neely actually says.

I remember the hit from game 3 and from game 6 like it was yesterday.

Ulf completely lined up the low hit on Neely in game 3. In game 6, Neely went to hit Samuelsson in the corner for a bit of payback, and Ulf raised his knee so it collided with Neely's injured part AGAIN.

So yes, the hit in question that aggravated his injury further was Neely trying to get vengeance, but it was because Samuelsson ducked the hit and lifted his knee along the boards. And Samuelsson wore concrete solid attempt to injure pads of steel. That is where the nickname robocop came from.

ill just run a quick search here. ahh
http://articles.courant.com/1991-12-27/sports/0000207760_1_cam-neely-bruins-wales-conference-finals

n Game 3, the two collided in the neutral zone and Neely took a hit on his left thigh. In Game 6, Neely went into the corner to check Samuelsson. But Samuelsson's knee hit Neely's thigh.

Neely suffered a deep bruise from the hit and the muscle calcified. After declining surgery, he has spent seven months trying to come back.

http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1137388/index.htm

Neely's career was imperiled by a collision with Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman Ulf Samuelsson (SI, March l)on May 11, 1991, during Game 6 of the Wales Conference finals. "I went to hit him," says Neely, "and he ducked. His knee was bent, and my thigh hit his knee."

Samuelsson's knee dented Neely's left thigh with such force that part of the damaged muscle began to calcify. Doctors prescribed rest, and Neely returned in January 1992 to score nine goals in as many games. Then a flare-up of knee pain, caused by cartilage damage doctors attribute to the collision with Samuelsson, sidelined Neely again.

 

[Killion]

This stuff I didn't know. Sea Bass character of course, but where was he in Irene and Cheers?

... ya, right on topic Big Guy. In Me, Myself & Irene he was in a scene as Sea Bass in a restaurant/diner briefly, and on Cheers, Season 8 I believe, walk on as himself, cameo type appearance & again fairly brief.