Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

NHL

Carcillo preparing himself, others for life after hockey

By FoxSports
Published | Updated
666b2932-

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 09: Daniel Carcillo #13 of the Chicago Blackhawks at American Airlines Center on October 9, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Daniel Carcillo is entertaining the option of not suiting up for an NHL team this season.

The unrestricted free-agent forward sustained a concussion last season, forcing him to play in just 39 games for the Chicago Blackhawks. His absence from the game allowed him to spend time with his son and reassess his priorities in life.

"If I told you that I've already made a decision 100 percent to not play, I'd be lying," the 30-year-old Ontario native told the Chicago Tribune. "But every year, especially the last couple, I've definitely thought about it. And then when you have a son, it kind of changes things because being away that long with that travel schedule is just not conducive to being the father I want to be. I want to be here and I want to see things."

While his career is in limbo, Carcillo is also devoting time to assisting NHLers make the transition after their hockey-playing days are over. The agitator formed a not-for-profit organization called Chapter 5 for that very reason, and also set up meet-and-greet where money can be raised to fund the charity during Carcillo's day with the Stanley Cup on Aug. 30.

"It's called Chapter 5 because it's the next chapter of an athlete's life," Carcillo told the newspaper. "It's turning the page and really having to do something out of the norm and something that most of us really aren't prepared for. It's helping guys transition into real life and kind of re-purpose lives by putting our drive and our commitment into something else. And the number five is because it was (Steve Montador's) number when he was in Chicago."

Montador, a former Blackhawks defenseman, was Carcillo's close friend who died on Feb. 15, 2015.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Carcillo recorded 48 goals and 52 assists in 429 career games with the then-Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Blackhawks.

(h/t Chicago Tribune)