Daniel Paille met with the media today after being struck by an errant shot by Steve Staios on Monday night. He has a black eye, a few stitches, and he’s forced to breathe through his nose—but it could have been much worse. Doctors told Paille that the puck to the face that he endured could have ended his season if it weren’t for the visor. In fact, it could have ended his career.
In the never-ending debate between fans regarding visors, here’s a new cautionary tale: Paille had be considering removing the visor before taking Staios’ shot to the mush. “I’ve been debating for years on whether to wear a visor or not,” Paille told ESPN’s James Murphy. “I always wore one but I always debated on taking it off and see how I’d feel.” He added that Monday’s incident made him wonder and it made the decision pretty easy going forward. The visor will stay on.
He knows it could have been worse than temporary stitches and bruises. The majority of players we’ve asked around the league admit that it should be the players’ choice. From fighters to superstars; from guys that wear the visor to those that don’t, the vast majority of NHLers think each individual player should decide whether they wear the visor or not. We hear about guys putting on the visor over the course of their career after they narrowly escape serious damage, but Paille was considering the opposite.
It looks like it only took a puck to the face to scare some sense into him.