Life has a way of occasionally revealing our deficiencies to us as we age. That receding hairline; that strange feeling of exhaustion after climbing a flight of stairs; that propensity for feeling pain in a knee or your back when the weather worsens.
Coming to grips with the fact that we aren't 18 or 21 years old anymore is difficult for some, less difficult for others. It's never easy, that's for sure.
Diminishing abilities are especially obvious in hockey and exponentially more difficult with which to cope when you were a great player in your early 20s and your new reality is life on a fourth line after years of having a prominent role on a team.
Say hi to Brenden Morrow, Vinny Lecavalier and Mike Richards, three former first-round picks and NHL captains adjusting to a new life in the NHL with different degrees of success.
"Sometimes in your career," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, "someone has to rip the Band-Aid off."
Demotion to a fourth line for a former star happens for a couple reasons, mainly because that player is older and isn't a star anymore or because that player's particular team is ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Dave Lozo
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