Dose: Bruised Bruins

One thing I’ve picked up on devoting my days to hockey coverage and sports in general: many fans really lose sight of just how fleeting an athlete’s career can be.

My growing feeling is a lot like Keyser Soze’s great devil line in “The Usual Suspects”: “The greatest lie management ever sold is that athletes are the devil.” Tune into a typical sports radio program and you’ll hear frequent callers (or hosts) bash athletes for being “spoiled brats” (or worse). Those people have been conditioned to despise the players when the owners are the ones who are typically exploiting markets to get cities to pay for their arenas, then charge for “seat licenses” and push for ads on jerseys and other unpleasant things.

Are athletes perfect? No, but if you feel the need to direct vitriol toward people in sports - aren’t sports supposed to be about fun and entertainment more than anything else?* - maybe lean more toward the billionaires than the millionaires.

This thought popped up when considering the sad story of Nathan Horton, who seems about as close to retired as someone can get when they seem reluctant to admit it’s time to hang things up.

Here’s the most telling (yet remarkably not the saddest) snippet from his very sad talk with the Columbus Dispatch:

“I don’t want to have surgery, because of what that means,” Horton said. “I don’t want to live with this pain, but I don’t want to make that decision. It’s hard for me to say that, at 29 years old, I’m done. I mean, really? Done at 29?”

Horton's won a Stanley Cup (even if Aaron Rome's hit knocked him out of the series, and for all we know, shortened his career). He's estimated to have made more than $38 million in his career and is in the second year of a seven-year, $37.1 million deal that should be paid to him even in the near-certainty that Columbus will stash him on LTIR.

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It's heartbreaking to see a bright career like Horton's cut so short, much like it was with another former Bruin Marc Savard. (Sometimes I still wonder what kind of career Savard could have enjoyed.)

My advice to Horton is to hang 'em up and try to enjoy a healthy life with his family. He's proven plenty.

If there's any other lesson to take from this, it might be that teams should be rigorous when it comes to checking on a free agent when they're set to sign one. It was no secret that Horton wasn't totally healthy when he was handed a huge deal, and now that mistake will haunt the Blue Jackets, who aren't exactly in a position where they can be THAT excited about the cap savings.

It's an awful situation for everyone involved, so here's hoping that things turn around for Horton and the Blue Jackets.

(Seriously, Columbus has really suffered through the first month of this season.)

Now, onto the recaps:

MAPLE LEAFS 6, BRUINS 1

-- Well, this was a little surprising. Hopefully I didn’t jinx the Bruins by praising them earlier this week …

-- It boggles my mind a bit that Randy Carlyle decided to break up James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel. That's like forcibly removing peanut butter from its chocolatey casing. I'll leave you to decide which player is chocolate and which one is the vaguely salty peanut butter.

-- Is Tyler Bozak a passenger on that Reese's train with JVR and Kessel? Probably, though I will also leave the debate regarding the extent of that to the masses. All I know is that he's worth having because those linemates drive him to nice results.

-- James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier have divided the Leafs' net pretty evenly in November. Fantasy owners are crossing their fingers that their guy starts on Saturday (Buffalo) rather than Friday (Pittsburgh), assuming that back-to-back gets split.

-- Leo Komarov already has more points this season (10) than he had in 42 games in 2012-13, his last year in the NHL (nine). If there's one thing you could depend upon with him, it's hits; he has 63 in 15 games this season and delivered more than four per game (176) in 2012-13.

-- Milan Lucic benefits quite a bit from David Krejci's presence, but he managed an assist and four hits last night, so that's pretty solid.

-- One thing I'll say for Seth Griffith: he received the same amount of PP time (3:14) as Torey Krug and Brad Marchand last night.

DUCKS 6, KINGS 5 (SO)

-- Frederik Andersen hasn't exactly been lights out since being temporarily relieved of John Gibson's competition. He's gone without a win in three starts, although he had decent numbers in the two previous November appearances. Allowing three goals on 10 shots isn't going to calm any nerves.

Considering the circumstances, Jason LaBarbera might be worth monitoring for short-term add purposes. "The Barber" is what he is - a journeyman backup - so don't expect sterling numbers on a night-to-night basis. Still, keep an eye on him, at least.

-- You have to love Ryan Kesler's versatility: five goals on 50 SOG, 21 PIM, 47 hits, 195 FW. Last night was especially impressive: two goals, one assist, +3, four SOG and eight hits.

-- Corey Perry mumps watch is getting kind of ridiculous. And it couldn't happen to a better gu--uh, fantasy owners hope he gets well soon.

-- It's been a very disappointing start for the would-be top line of the Kings, but Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams are starting to show some life. In the last two games, Kopitar has four points, Gaborik has three and Williams has a goal. With only two goals to show for 45 SOG (4.4 shooting percentage), it's easy to predict better puck luck for Williams going forward.

-- Jake Muzzin's been taking well to an increased role lately. He has all five of his points in the last three games.

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