Timeout! The most brutal and deadly injuries in the NHL

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane suffered a horrific injury last week during the Oiler's game against Tampa Bay.

During the second period, Pat Maroon’s skate accidentally made it past Kane’s glove and slashed deep into the Oiler forward’s wrist, forcing him off the ice and leaving the hockey world worried about his safety. 

Fortunately, the wound didn’t prove fatal. The 31-year-old is expected to miss up to three or four months of play, and said to reporters that he was “unlucky and then lucky,” and that he was already well enough to be back with his team. 

"It’s great to be kinda back," Kane told reporters, "I’m not on the ice but in the same morning routine. Kane is hoping to return to the ice soon, however, he said, “I can’t do much but I can be around the team as much as I can. That will definitely be helpful as the recovery process happens."

Kane’s laceration was just one of many brutal injuries that the sport of hockey has seen since the National Hockey League (NHL) was founded, some of which included several near-death moments. Here’s a list of some of hockey’s most brutal injuries. 

Montreal Canadien Trent McCleary nearly died from a fractured larynx and collapsed lung after he took a slapshot to the throat off of Philadelphia's Chris Therien. McCleary was rushed to the hospital and survived his injury, but his career did not. He tried to resume his career after his recovery, but he was plagued by shortness of breath and retired on his doctor's advice before the 2000-2001 season began. 

Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman suffered a similar scary moment in 2004 when a deflected slapshot from Flames defenseman Rhett Warrener hit Yzerman in the eye. The shot broke Yzerman’s orbital bone and he underwent immediate surgery to save his sight, which forced him to miss the rest of the 2004 NHL playoffs. 

In 2006, Washington Capitals captain Chris Clark took a beef shot to the mouth in a game against the Boston Bruins. The puck crushed Clark’s palate bone and he lost four of his front teeth. Amazingly, he was only out for two games, but for the rest of his life, he played with a full facemask. 

Minnesota Wild player Kurtis Foster might have suffered one of the worst injuries in recent memory after he collided with Torrey Mitchell in a game against the San Jose Sharks. Foster's collision saw him get smashed up hard into the boards and he snapped his femur bone, an injury that put him out for the rest of the season. 

Nikolas Lindstrom, one of the greatest defensemen of all time, also suffered one of the worst NHL injuries of all time when he ruptured a testicle in Game 3 of the Red Wing’s playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009. Speared by Patrick Sharpe, Lindstrom initially went on to play, but by the next morning, he was in so much pain that was forced to seek help. 

One of the absolute most brutal injuries in NHL history has the fractured vertebra and severe concussion Max Pacioretty suffered when he was slammed in a controversial hit by Zdeno Chara. Pacioretty was examined for a full five minutes before play resumed and missed the remainder of the season.

Darryl Boyce once slammed face-first into the boards during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. While he suffered a nasty broken nose, the injury is remembered for the cameraman that got a closeup of Boyce’s nose sandwiched between two panels of glass on the boards. 

During the peak of Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, New Jersey Devil Scott Stevens rocked Philadelphia Flyer Eric Lindros when his head was down, a move that gave Lindros his second major concussion and effectively ended his career in the NHL. 

One of the most bizarre hockey injuries of all time came from a bit of friendly fire in 2009 when, in a fit of frustration and rage from scoring on his own net, Florida Panthers defensemen Keith Ballard swung his stick at the goal post and accidentally slashed his own goalie, Tomas Vokoun, on the head. Vokoun suffered a lacerated ear and was rushed off the ice and to a hospital. 

In 1997, Mikael Renberg needed 200 stitches to close the wound on his face after the skate of Ottawa Senator Randy Cunneywort accidentally slashed Renberg’s face after the two got tangled up in a fall. 

Without question, the most brutal injury in hockey history happened in 1989 when Buffalo goalie Clint Malarchuk had his throat cut and his jugular severed by the skate of St. Louis Blues player Steve Tuttle. 

Malarchuk was inches away from death when his quick-thinking trainer, a former Vietnam combat medic, reached into Malarchuk’s neck and pinched his jugular vein closed, not letting go until doctors had stabilized the wound. Malarchuk survived grizzly injury and continued to play in the NHL. 

Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi ended the career of Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore in 2004 when he sucker-punched Moore from behind. 

Moore was immediately knocked unconscious and fell facefirst into the ice and fractured three vertebrae in his neck, Moore was never able to play again. 

In what is considered one of the darkest moments of hockey history, January 13th, 1968 saw the first and only death of an NHL player on the ice. Bill Masterson was hit by Oakland Seal players Larry Cahan and Ron Harris and smashing the back of his head off the ice.

Like many players of the era, Masterson wasn’t wearing a helmet, and 30 hours after the injury, he passed away from his injuries. Unfortunately, Masterson's death did little to change the culture of safety in hockey. Some players decided to wear helmets, but uptake was slow until 1979 when the NHL's president, John Zeigler, made protective helmets mandatory.