These are guys who will drag themselves back onto the ice while holding an IV in one hand, in the middle of a cerebral hemorrhage. And that's just the coach. The players are really tough.
As a newcomer to hockey, one thing became evident very quickly.
Most National Football League players wouldn't last a 20-minute period in the NHL.
And the hockey guys play at least 80 games a year. You don't need to know Maurice Richard's nickname - Skippy - to figure out that hockey players, pound-for-pound, make tubs of goo like Warren Sapp look like lawn bowlers.