Clint Malarchuk Clint Malarchuk ( b . May 1 1961 in Grande Prairie , Alberta , Canada ) is a retired professional goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for eleven seasons , from 1981 to 1992 . 4th round draft pick of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft , Malarchuk played for the Nordiques , the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres , posting a good record of 141 wins , 130 losses , 45 ties , 12 shutouts , and a 0 . 885 save percentage . However , despite having been a good goaltender , it is above all for the life - threatening injury he sustained on March 22 1989 when St . Louis Blues ' Steve Tuttle ' s blade slit Malarchuk ' s throat , after Tuttle had collided with Uwe Krupp in front of the Sabres ' net . A pool of blood resulted of the carotid artery cut , and Malarchuk , despite the severe blood flow , managed to leave the ice by his own . The telediffused match was interrupted and cameras pointed elsewhere when people began realizing what was happening . Spectators who attended the game were shocked , with nine faintings , two heart attacks among them . Malarchuk spent a mere night at the hospital , and resumed training 4 days later . His injury forced the NHL to institute a policy forcing goaltenders to wear neck protection to ensure similar events never happen again . A similar incident occured in 1995 when Bengt Åkerblom died in a similar incident in the Elitserien and in 2008 when Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers had his carotid artery accidentally slit by teammate Olli Jokinen ' s blade . Zednik was more fortunate than Åkerblom and healed . After the NHL . Malarchuk ' s play having declined , he retired from the NHL in 1992 . He returned to play in the International Hockey League for a four more or less complete season , then retired from active playing for good , carrying on with several coaching duties , most notably as the goaltenders coach of the Florida Panthers in 2002 - 03 , and of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2006 - 07 . The gun incident . On October 7 2008 , Malarchuk was found profusely bleeding at their residence of Fish Springs , Nevada . by his wife Joan when she came back from work . Malarchuk , who was hunting rabbits , had , according to his wife , rested his . 22 calibre rifle between his legs and with its butt on the ground when it suddenly discharged , wounding him to the chin . Officiers and paramedics called on the spot reported that Malarchuk was uncooperative and initially refused treatments . He spent a week at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno and was released . Three days later , the sheriff ' s deputies in Douglas County completed their investigation ofn the incident , which was concluded as being " accidental under suspicious circumstances " ; to them , the matter was closed unless contradictory information was found . Sgt . Jim Halsey states that he cannot rule out the suicide possibility , however . Both Malarchuks vehemently deny this might have been a suicide attempt . Joan told the authorities that Malarchuk was not allowed to drink alcohol due to his medications for his obsessive - compulsive disorder , but that he was nevertheless doing so at the time of the accident .