Thankfully He's Alright

I want to let everyone in on a secret: I'm a fan of Rich Peverley. I always have been since his days in Nashville to his time in Atlanta to his work in Boston and now in Dallas. I wish the Thrashers hadn't traded him to the Bruins because I would have loved him as a Winnipeg Jet, but that trade brought back another guy who I'm a fan of in Mark Stuart. But I'm a fan of Peverley because he's a gamer. He plays hard, goes into traffic, and does the little things that have helped him graduate from the ECHL to the AHL and onto the NHL. So seeing him in distress tonight actually caused me a little grief tonight.

If you missed it, Peverley collapsed on the Dallas Stars' bench tonight.

It is a scary moment for all involved, and I'm glad that the NHL decided to postpone the game. The Columbus Blue Jackets appeared to be in just as much panic as the Stars were, so kudos to the NHL for putting the game aside as both teams banded together with hope that Peverley would be alright.

For those that aren't aware, Peverley had a procedure done in the off-season to correct an irregular heartbeat this past summer. He missed all of the Stars' training camp and their season-opening game on October 3 as he recovered. It appears he was on-track with a clean bill of health, but something went wrong tonight.

The good news was that the Dallas Stars' medical staff were quick to react to Peverley's situation, and they got him revived and safe before he left the arena. According to head coach Lindy Ruff, Peverley was revived and asked how much time was left in the first period. "Typical athlete," Ruff said, smiling.

Peverley was conscious and talking as he left the arena on a stretcher for precautions, and was taken to UT Southwestern St. Paul and to receive treatment. Dr. Gil Salazar of UT Southwestern was one of the doctors who treated Peverley.

"As soon as we treated him, he regained consciousness," Dr. Salazar told Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News. "He was alert and awake talking to us after the event and quickly transported to the hospital. At this point, I was able to talk to him in the back of the ambulance and he was able to tell me where he was and he actually wanted to get back in the game."

Dr. Salazar went into detail about the treatment that Peverley received, and kudos to the Stars for having people like Dr. Salazar available. "We provided oxygen for him. We started an IV. We did chest compressions on him and defibrillated him, provided some electricity to bring a rhythm back to his heart, and that was successful with one attempt, which is very reassuring."

Peverley only missed one game this year, and that was last week against Columbus on Tuesday. Peverley had an issue with his heartbeat on Monday against Dallas and did not accompany the team to Columbus. After adjusting his medication, Peverley returned to play against Vancouver on Thursday, and it appeared things were working well once again for the 31 year-old forward.

"As soon as he came off the ice, he collapsed," Ruff said to Heika. "I instantly stood on the bench and started screaming up in the crowd for a doctor. I was just screaming to let the doctors know we needed somebody ASAP and they were there ASAP. I can tell you firsthand, it was an absolute marvel what they went through."

I'll be honest: I was scared for Peverley. Anytime there's a situation where a player collapses, there's always a chance something bad could happen. But we've seen exceptional people step up and help players who have fallen, and those people should be heralded as heroes. Because of them, people like Jiri Fischer and Rich Peverley still are with us today.

I want to thank the Stars' medical staff, the medical staff at UT Southwestern St. Paul Hospital, and everyone who was able to quickly react to Rich Peverley's emergency. And kudos to all the players, teams, and fans who have reached out to the Dallas Stars to show their support in this scary time for Rich and his family.

Get well soon, Rich. Glad that you're alright.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!