Dan Blackburn Was Unable To Close His Glove Hand After Suffering Severe Nerve Damage

Published on February 15th, 2025 12:09 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It was early 2005 and NHL goaltender Dan Blackburn had a serious problem - he couldn't close his glove hand anymore.

Blackburn, who was drafted 10th overall in the 2001 NHL Draft in order to be the successor to Mike Richter, was preparing for the 2003-04 season when an unlucky bolt of fate struck him - he hurt his shoulder lifting weights.

Blackburn, who had a cumulative record of 20-32-4 in the NHL up until that point, was fighting to stay with the Rangers after some uneven play in his first two years with the team.

There were some flashes of brilliance (including a shutout win against the Calgary Flames) but overall, the Rangers weren't confident enough in Blackburn to make him their starting goaltender - they instead wanted him to continue to develop.

Blackburn was still young - he entered the 2003-04 season having just turned 20 years old. He entered the 2003-04 training camp in good shape and was looking to make the team.

This is when disaster struck for Blackburn after he completely messed up his arm while lifting weights.

It wasn't just a shoulder injury - Blackburn had suffered significant nerve damage in his left arm. This was a problem, as this was Blackburn's catching arm.

After surgery to try to fix his nerve issue, Blackburn came to the realization that he couldn't close his glove hand anymore due to the damage.

After missing the entirety of the 2003-04 regular season with his injury, Blackburn had a decision to make, as his career was now in mortal danger.

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Blackburn made a decision - he was going to play goal with two blockers.

The Rangers sent Blackburn to the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL, where he played in 12 games using the two blocker setup.

Blackburn would post a record of 3-9-0 with a GAA of 3.54 and a save percentage of .892.

After 12 games with the ECHL, Blackburn attended the New York Rangers training camp, where he suffered a strained MCL.

At this point, Blackburn had a decision to make - retire and take an insurance payout of $6 million (remember, he hurt himself while at Rangers training camp, so he was hurt on the job) or push forward with an unlikely NHL comeback.

Blackburn, just 22 years of age still, took the $6 million payout and started his new life.

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Blackburn vowed that he would never play goal again but he elected to suit up in the 2012 Winter Classic Alumni Game, where he played goal for the New York Rangers.