Out Of The Fog

Two weeks after suffering a terrifying concussion that knocked him out cold last April, Montreal Canadiens winger Richard Zednik returned to the Molson Centre for the first time. Sitting in the press box, he watched the start of Game 4 of the Canadiens' second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes and thought, This is a great crowd tonight. I've never heard it this loud. But as noise from the fans and the blaring sound system echoed in his head, it dawned on Zednik that his injury wasn't healing as fast as he'd hoped. Even tapping his fingers on the table produced a loud sound, and by the third period Zednik was tired and woozy and beginning to suspect that Montreal, which was leading the series 2-1, would have to finish the playoffs without him. The Canadiens, who lost Game 4 in overtime, began a dizzying tailspin of their own and were ousted by the eventual Eastern Conference champions in six games.

Zednik, 26, was one of several of the league's more talented players who suffered serious injuries last spring. After putting together career highs in games played (82), goals (22) and points (44), and helping Montreal reach the playoffs for the first time since 1998, Zednik was enjoying the finest stretch of his five-year NHL career when the postseason began. Then, with a minute left in Game 4 of Montreal's opening-round series against the Boston Bruins, defense-man Kyle McLaren clotheslined Zednik as he stickhandled across the blue line, knocking him cold with an elbow. Zednik, who lay unconscious for five minutes, was taken off the ice on a stretcher and rushed to Montreal General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion, a broken nose and lacerations on his throat and near his eye.

"I thought I had gotten by McLaren," Zednik says. "Until I saw the video, I thought someone else had hit me." He remembers nothing of the hit and little of his two days in the hospital. The NHL suspended McLaren for the rest of the series. After the incident McLaren said the hit was not intentional and that he wished Zednik a speedy return to health. Zednik has not spoken with McLaren but says he holds no grudge.

Zednik's recovery was slow, however. In May he struggled with a routine postconcussion test in which he was shown a series of 10 words and pictures and asked to recall their order. In July, after faring better on subsequent tests, he resumed light workouts and cross-training, though he still suffered headaches during bike rides. By August he was pronounced fit.

As the Canadiens opened training camp in Vail, Colo., last week, Zednik was unsigned but close to agreement on a two-year contract. The team needs him. Montreal has gone four seasons without a 30-goal scorer, and few of its smallish, skilled forwards ( Saku Koivu, Yanic Perreault, Oleg Petrov or off-season acquisition Mariusz Czerkawski) go to the net with abandon. Last year the 6-foot, 200-pound Zednik was using his bulk to muscle his way to the slot—something he's eager to get back to doing.

"I had so much confidence at the end of the season, and it kills me not to be in camp," he says. "I really want to finish what I started."

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