Five years ago, Patrick Sharp said he would have returned to the game Oct. 20 when he suffered a concussion.
It would have been described as a "mild" concussion or not even as a concussion at all. That's just what hockey players did. It's what athletes did.
This time though, the NHL's new concussion protocol made Sharp sit out and also made him take serious stock in what had just happened. He missed 14 games and didn't return until he was completely symptom-free. It wasn't easy while his team was struggling in the standings, but it was the right thing to do.