LETHBRIDGE – 25 years ago, Clint Malarchuk almost lost his life in one of the most horrific sports injuries of all time. While playing goal for the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, his jugular vein was slashed by a skate. Only a lightning quick response by the team’s medical staff saved his life.
In his new book, The Crazy Game, co-authored with Dan Robson, Malarchuk dives deep into the mental toll the incident took on him.
“I struggled with OCD and depression before the accident in Buffalo,” Malarchuk told Global News. “I learned later, the trauma, it exploded.”
Malarchuk physically healed and even returned to the NHL, but his off-ice battles were just beginning.
“The depression just got unbearable, the anxiety attacks and the OCD, I could barely leave the house,” he remembers.
Malarchuk received no mental treatment after the incident, only being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder later in life. The mental struggles took a toll to the point where Malarchuk attempted suicide at his ranch in Nevada.
“I’m sitting here with a bullet in my head, that I put there,” says a candid Malarchuk. “And I’m alive to tell the story, and that all happened for a reason.”
Malarchuk is touring to promote The Crazy Game, feeling it’s important to tell his story to help others who are going through similar struggles. He compares mental illnesses to diabetes, as a chemical imbalance in the body. He says the first step to healing is “realizing that it’s not a weakness, it’s a sickness.”
Malarchuk has already heard stories from people inspired by his book to get the help they need. He says he’s now doing great in his life and encourages others who struggle with mental illness to not try to fight it alone.
“They can go for help and it’s not a bad thing,” he says. “It’s a good thing. You can feel better.”
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