Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly is expected to return to the lineup on Thursday after missing over five weeks with a knee injury. The world of sports was on pause when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin had a cardiac episode on the field and was rushed to a nearby hospital. "You can’t help but feel that," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of the incident. "It’s another reminder that we’re playing a game and some things such as that are well above anything that we’re doing." Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first quarter of the Buffalo Bills road game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday. Medical personnel on the field administered CPR and restored his heartbeat as the Bills safety is in critical condition of this writing. "When that stuff happens is always very scary. It’s not just exclusive to athletes," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "That’s always out there and puts things in perspective. For us, when that happens you’re grateful to have people around that are qualified to help you and hopefully that was the case last night and hopefully everything’s alright." There have been incidents in the hockey world that had teammates visibly concerned for a player’s health. In 2005, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer went into cardiac arrest and escaped death thanks to the quick work of medical personnel on the bench. In 1998, Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger suffered commotio cordis after taking a puck to the chest near his heart. Jay Boumeester is the most recent example. The St. Louis Blues defenseman underwent a cardiac episode while on the bench in February of 2020. “It happened in the absolute best place that it could happen because of all the protocols they have in place and how people responded so quickly,” he said in a news conference afterwards. “No. 1, they saved my life and No. 2, the fact that they could get on it so fast was very helpful.” [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcpZV2euVAM[/embed] In that particular case, the game between the Blues and Anaheim Ducks was postponed and Keefe agreed with the call by the NFL to follow suit. “I think that the right decision was made in terms of not continuing the game and all of that both for the player who was injured and that situation but also everybody else impacted both in witnessing that seeing all of that and how that plays on your mind to play such a physical and competitive sport,” Keefe said.
