Most Embarrassing Injuries in NHL History with Video

Injuries are a huge part of hockey and NHL action and sometimes players injure themselves in an embarrassing way. Sometimes a player trips over their skates, misses an opponent lined up for a big hit or they just flat out embarrass themselves.

Here are some of the most embarrassing injuries in NHL history caught on tape.

Players Hurts Himself After Celebrating Goal

While not an NHL play, this player had just scored an amazing game-winning goal for his team, and he felt the need for excessive celebration. After the player leaps for the heavens into the glass, he ends up on the other side of the rink.

The player's pride was not the only thing hurt during this incident because he akwardly fell through the glass and into the seating area.

Martin Havlat Tears Tendon While Attempting to Make Line Change

This injury was a freak accident and it was an embarrassing injury for veteran forward Martin Havlat. He couldn't get his other leg over the board and the end result was all of his weight going down on one leg.

Havlat went on to miss 39 games as a result of this injury.

Dion Phaneuf Injures Groin After Errant Stick Gets Caught Between His Legs

This moment features many different forms of hilarious hijinks. Dion Phaneuf body checks an opponent and then decides he wants to fight. However, Phaneuf didn't realize that there was a stick between his legs. He then takes one in the nether regions as he falls to the ice.

Jaromir Jagr Injures Shoulder Throwing a Punch

Jaromir Jagr is one of the NHL's greatest wingers in league history, as well as a sniper who scored goals. He is not a player that should engage in extra circular activities like fighting or being a physical aggressor.

Jagr sealed the Rangers' chances for lengthy playoff success when he dislocated his shoulder while trying to throw an effective punch.

It was embarrassing because this is an unnecessary injury that could have been avoided.

Brent Sopel and the Cracker Conundrum

Brent Sopel's injury registers as one of the strangest and most embarrassing injuries in NHL history. While at home, Sopel's daughter dropped a cracker and when he went to pick it up, he threw out his back.

The Vancouver Province detailed the story and the Canucks reaction to the news. "He picked up a cracker yesterday [Tuesday] and his back blew out and just spasmed out," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault.

Really? Or is this just a little pre-playoff mind game by Vigneault to throw off the Dallas Stars?

"I swear," added Vigneault. "He was trying to pick up a cracker and anybody who has had back problems knows that can happen."

Dustin Penner and His Penncakes

Dustin Penner's injury is similar to Brent Sopel's injury in a few ways. However, given Penner's surname the pancakes injury is pretty hilarious.

When Penner was having breakfast, he leaned over to enjoy some sweet and golden goodness and then his back locked up.

Rich Hammond from LA Kings Insider provided the whole description on how Penner injured himself:

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"I woke up fine, sat down to eat and it locked right up. It never happened to me before. I couldn't stand up. I was probably at the third stage of evolution. So my wife helped me get dressed, and then I drove to the rink here, to hope they could do some magic and get it opened up. Kinger [trainer Chris Kingsley] just looked at me and said, 'Go home.' So I got some treatment and went home.

"Apparently it's one of those mysterious things, where you can throw it out (from) sneezing. I just leaned over to dip into some delicious pancakes that my wife made. It's just like it [the pain] wraps around you and squeezes. … So it was disappointing. Hopefully it's just an isolated incident, and not something that's going to become chronic."

 

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Don't Forget to Take off Your Skate Guards

One of the most important responsibilities a hockey player has is taking proper care of his personal equipment. 

This is not an NHL injury, but this player obviously forgot the most important rule in reference to skates. As a player, you need to always remove your skate guards because if you don't, you can end up on your face. That is what happened to this player and a few bruises were the only result from this hilarious moment.

Teammates Collide

This injury was very embarrassing because both players were unable to keep track of where the other is. Both Florida Panther forwards were skating on the ice and then they skated right into each other.

These types of injuries should be avoidable because you should always be mindful of where your teammates are on the ice.

Glenn Healy and His Bagpipes

Glenn Healy is currently an NHL commentator for CBC but he enjoyed a lengthy NHL career. Back in 2000, he suffered an embarrassing injury (H/T to Time Magazine):

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The Toronto Maple Leafs goalie was fond of jamming on the bagpipes, but in 2000, it was the pipes that jammed him. While cutting the bag off of one instrument, Healy slipped and gashed open the thumb on his left hand, requiring 10 stitches. 

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The only saving grace for Healy in this situation is that the injury occurred in the offseason and he was able to recover and return injury-free the next season.

Carlo Colaiacovo's Faceplant

This was a pretty embarrassing injury when you consider how it came to fruition. Colaiacovo was chasing down Valtteri Filppula and in the process the two came together. Flippula was tripped and then Colaiacovo winded up all the way on the other side of the net and he face-planted the glass.

Keith Ballard Injures Tomas Vokoun in Idiotic Fashion

This injury is embarrassing not for Tomas Vokoun but for the perpetrator Keith Ballard. After the Florida Panthers surrendered a goal, Ballard was so enraged that he wanted to break his stick on the crossbar.

Instead, he ended up slicing the neck of his goaltender. Vokoun ultimately was all right in the end but there was no reason that this injury should have ever occurred.

Patrick Roy Lays out Mike Gartner

This was not technically an injury but it is safe to say the Mike Gartner's pride was injured when Patrick Roy laid him out. Roy went behind the net to play the puck and when Gartner went to make a move, he was taken down by the Hall of Fame netminder.

Adam McQuaid Stumbles After Missing Mike Richards

Adam McQuaid had Philadelphia Flyers' captain Mike Richards lined up for a body check and then everything went wrong.

Richards side stepped the oncoming Bruins' defender and then McQuaid stumbled when he didn't make contact. As a result, he ended up stumbling into the boards.

Philadelphia Flyers Hurt Their Egos

This is another video where two teammates collide but this time the only injury was a swollen ego. Both Jeff Carter and Dan Carcillo wanted to line up Tomas Kopecky but in the end they collided with each other and they looked a bit foolish.

Kopecky got in Carcillo's face afterwards and he probably chirped at how stupid the two players looked after the collision.