Daniel Carcillo accuses Blackhawks of mismanaging Steve Montador’s concussions in 2011-12

Former Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo accused the Blackhawks of ostracizing Steve Montador during the 2011-12 season after Montador, shortly after suffering four concussions in a three-month span, took the medical care for his brain injuries “into his own hands.”

Carcillo and Montador, who died in 2015 and was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) shortly after his death, have become two of the central figures in the fight against the NHL’s claims that hockey and concussions have no provable connection.

Montador’s family filed a lawsuit later in 2015 claiming that during his 571-game NHL career, the defenseman suffered at least 11 concussions and “thousands of subconcussive brain traumas,” that those concussions and traumas caused CTE, that the NHL did not properly recognize and treat his CTE, and that his CTE “caused, or contributed to cause,” his death.

The lawsuit has made little progress through the judicial system in the four years since, but the NHL filed a response June 28th in a Minnesota district court requesting to move the case to Chicago and presenting 26 claims why it isn’t responsible, per TSN.

AP Photos

Montador played 52 games for the Hawks in 2011-12, then 14 games for AHL Rockford in 2012-13 before his contract — with two years remaining — was bought out in summer 2013.

Carcillo — who played for the Hawks in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2014-15 — has been outspoken against the NHL in regards to its stance on concussions often since his 2015 retirement. He pledged last year to donate his brain for head trauma research.

The Hawks, through a team spokesman, declined to comment on Carcillo’s tweets. Carcillo did not respond to multiple interview requests from the Sun-Times.