"There have been claims recently from musico-journo Dave Bidini that Ed Kea's drowning was suicide, not an accident. Asked him where he got this info and he replied that it came from Kea family member(s)"
I wonder if the Kea tragedy should do another thing and that is highlight the orgins of a very dirty little secret of the modern game that is finally coming to roost with the concussion lawsuits being filed by former players. The "finishing your check" is a very dirty tactic and from the accounts I've read about the incident, it seems that George McPhee could have very well possibly avoided very seriously injuring Eddie by slowing down somewhat and not hitting him full force the way he did when Eddie was for those two or three seconds probably fully focusing on the puck and not who may have been converging on him. For years afterwards, all we got about the Kea incident were lectures about wearing helmets.
It does not take much to visualize, however, had McPhee hit ("finishing his check" as he had been probably coached to do so) someone like Steve Payne (or anyone else a few years younger than Kea and quite likely wearing headgear), that player may not have suffered the severe and permanent injuries Kea did. But still probably have been finished for the night but then back in the lineup the next game or the one afterwards and most likely vulnerable to another concussion and its continued problems. I recall reading in Jeremy Roenick's last book about how during his first or second exhibition game as a Chicago Blackhawks rookie, his coach Mike Keenan yelling and swearing at him for allegedly failing to "finish his check". Forgive me for dredging up an older thread here, but am curious if "finishing your check" has been discussed as it should concerning the players' lawsuits.