Flyers' Primeau Retires After Concussion

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VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) - Philadelphia Flyers center Keith Primeau retired Thursday, ending a 15-year NHL career after failing to receive clearance to play because of lingering effects from a concussion.
"I'm sorry I couldn't overcome this injury and dragged this out as long as I did," Primeau said Thursday at the team's practice facility. "I did it all with the best of intentions and with the thought of returning home and playing in front of 20,000 screaming fans."
The 34-year-old Primeau had been trying to return from an Oct. 25 concussion after a hit from Montreal's Alexander Perezhogin. It was the most severe in a series of head injuries Primeau endured during his career.
"In a sense, it feels somewhat like failure," Primeau said. "This decision will allow me to live a normal life and, in time, offer few reminders of my injuries."
He played in two more games after he was injured, the last one Oct. 28 against Carolina, and he was placed on injured reserve two days later.
Primeau, who has two years and more than $6 million remaining on his contract, missed 21 games because of a concussion sustained against the Rangers in the 2003-04 season. He also had at least two head injuries during the 2004 playoffs, in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Toronto and in the conference finals against Tampa Bay.
Primeau experienced problems with balance and vision when he tearfully announced in late February he would not play again the rest of the year. But he surprised the Flyers when he practiced with them shortly before the playoffs, giving hope he might return.
Instead, there was no dramatic comeback. No final game to skate off on his own terms.
"I think a career of concussions has a cumulative effect," Primeau said.
Primeau matched his career high with 73 points in 2000-01, and led the Flyers in playoff goals (nine) and points (16) in 2004 when he helped lead them within a win of the Stanley Cup finals.
Chosen in the first round by Detroit in the 1990 draft, Primeau spent six seasons with the Red Wings and three more with Hartford/Carolina. After missing the first half of the 1999-00 season with the Hurricanes because of a contract dispute, Primeau was traded to the Flyers and brought immediate toughness and leadership to the locker room.

BellSouth