NHL Enforcer Shares the Moment That Ruined His NHL Career

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Hunter Bowman
November 6, 2023 (9:01 PM)

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Zack Kassian, a seasoned NHL veteran with a 12-year career spanning 661 games and four different teams, saw his journey in professional hockey come to an untimely end.

His final season took place in 2022-2023, donning the Arizona Coyotes jersey, where he competed in 58 games.

Reflecting on his career, Kassian opened up about a pivotal moment that changed the course of his playing days:

Zack Kassian says he was never quite the same after being knocked out cold in a preseason fight in 2021.

«The human brain, something happens like that...it's very tough to go back to being the same player.»

However, his decision to retire came after a fateful altercation. In 2021, during a game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks, Kassian engaged in a fight with Zack MacEwen, a Canucks forward aiming to ignite his team.

Regrettably, during the skirmish, MacEwen landed a punch that knocked Kassian out cold. The impact of this preseason bout lingered with Kassian, leaving him with the feeling that he was no longer the same player he once was.

Ultimately, this shift in his experience led to his decision to step away from professional hockey in 2022-2023. On October 26, 2023, after 12 remarkable seasons in the NHL, Zack Kassian officially retired from the sport for good.